Doctors interested in practicing psychiatry will receive classroom training, clinical experience, and other professional development tools as part of a psychiatry residency. The duration of a psychiatry residency varies depending on the country in which a doctor is trained; for example, in the United States, it lasts four years. The curriculum is usually tailored to the institution, with the goal of preparing residents to practice psychiatry after graduation. Graduates of psychiatry residencies are typically prepared to take board certification exams in the field.
Medical students interested in a career in psychiatry typically apply to a number of residency programs, visiting them and interviewing with them. Students can meet current interns and residents and learn more about the program while they are there. Students create a ranked list of residency programs they want to apply to and submit it for matching; residency programs also provide a ranked list, with the goal of matching every medical student with an appropriate residency program.
The first year of a psychiatry residency, under the four-year model, is spent giving students a thorough grounding in various models of mental illness, the application of medications to the treatment of mental illness, and other topics. Students may be given elective activities to learn more about specific subfields of psychiatry, as well as opportunities to interact with patients.
More clinical practice opportunities are available in the second year. Residents observe patient care and work with patients before moving on to a variety of elective units to gain experience with various types of psychiatric practice. Medical residency programs typically have connections with a number of local hospitals, allowing residents to work in emergency rooms, private hospitals, public hospitals, and psychiatric clinics.
Residents in the third year of their psychiatry residency have more opportunities to build patient relationships and practice psychiatry. As they provide psychiatric services, residents are given increasing levels of autonomy in patient care. They can also take electives in forensic psychiatry or specific mental health issues if they are interested. People can pursue research, more electives, and clinical training refinement in their fourth year to prepare for psychiatric practice.
A typical psychiatry residency program will focus on either adult, adolescent, or child psychiatry, and will provide training specific to these populations. People in both types of programs are typically exposed to patients of various ages and given elective opportunities to learn more. Many psychiatrists engage in psychotherapy for themselves while in residency, as well as receiving training in various models of psychotherapy so that they can provide these services to their patients.