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We have been a general adult psychiatric residency training program since our founding in 1967. We accept four residents per year, for a total of sixteen residents in the four post-graduate years. We benefit from the myriad of educational resources offered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of our lecturers hold appointments at Stanford, UCSF, and local institutes for psychoanalysis and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Our residency’s progressive approach continues to win national recognition and received an American Psychiatric Award for excellence in residency training.
FAQs:
1) Where is San Mateo County?
San Mateo County shares a border with San Francisco City and County. The city of San Mateo is approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is in San Mateo County. A number of our residents live and comfortably commute from San Francisco; residents also live in Palo Alto, home to Stanford University, approximately 14 miles south. San Mateo County’s population is approximately 750,000 (roughly the same size as San Francisco’s) and is both ethnically and socioeconomically diverse. Map of San Mateo County and City at http://www.smccvb.com/map.html
2) Where do residents complete rotations?
The main inpatient site is the San Mateo Medical Center (SMMC), which provides medical, surgical, and psychiatric services to county residents. Residents receive much of their outpatient training in one of our three county mental health clinics (geographically referred to as North, Central, and South), where they develop clinical acumen by maintaining a continuous panel of their own psychiatric and psychotherapy patients over the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th postgraduate years. Residents also rotate through sites outside the county for various required and elective rotations, exposing them to a wide variety of patient populations and treatment centers. Current rotation sites include services at Stanford University Hospitals, UCSF, Stanford’s student mental health center, Kaiser Permanente, and Mills-Peninsula Hospital (see Clinical Rotations).
3) Where do your residents go after graduating?
In keeping with our tradition of broad clinical excellence, our graduates pursue a wide variety of careers in the academic, community, and private sectors. San Mateo County-trained psychiatrists can be found in professional environments ranging from private psychoanalytic practices to full-time forensics work. Many do some teaching at academic settings, and our strong community tradition ensures that several will go on to assume positions as innovators and leaders in public psychiatry.
4) What about fellowships?
In recent years, many residents have pursued fellowships; ten in child and adolescent psychiatry (Stanford-7, University of California Davis-2, Vanderbilt), two in forensic psychiatry (Harvard, UCSF), one in geriatric psychiatry (University of Texas), and one in public psychiatry (Columbia University). We offer a San Mateo County/Stanford Community Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship administered through Stanford University (see question 17 below).
5) How much individual supervision do residents get?
PGY 1 residents meet daily with their supervising attending and weekly with several additional instructors to learn the basics of psychiatric interviewing, psychopharmacology, inpatient care, etc. PGY 2-4 residents generally meet individually and weekly with an adult outpatient supervisor, a clinical rotation supervisor, and two psychotherapy preceptors. In addition, PGY 2 and PGY 3 residents meet together for didactic instruction for two half-days per week. The Director and Assistant Director of Residency Training are always approachable and available for impromptu, individualized assistance.
6) Does your program support a bio-psycho-social philosophy?
Yes. We believe that clinical and didactic training should be equally strong in each of these domains. Our curriculum emphasizes biological psychiatry and psychopharmacology, with residents acquiring a particularly strong skill set in treating severe mental illness. Our strengths in psychotherapy training are nationally recognized (see below). And special note should be made of our unique commitment to the social realm. Our residents develop a thorough knowledge of community psychiatry and a unique appreciation of its multi-faceted approach to mental health. We embrace and are very much a part of our diverse community. Residents treat patients in settings beyond the hospital and clinic – examples include our geropsychiatry service which visits elderly patients in their homes and the forensic service at the San Mateo County Jail. Most importantly, we believe that the future of psychiatry lies in outpatient care and community outreach. As our field continues to evolve, our residents are uniquely equipped to adapt to change in community psychiatry not only through excellent clinical training but also a thorough understanding of and commitment to leadership, good management, and policy in the global field of mental health.
7) Does your program promote training in psychotherapy?
Absolutely. We believe that the understanding and use of psychotherapies are integral to well-rounded psychiatric treatment. Each resident in our program receives training in various psychotherapies including but not limited to long-term dynamic, short-term, cognitive behavioral, group, and supportive psychotherapy. Our strengths in psychotherapy training are evidenced by our residents ranking 1st in the country on the national Columbia University Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Exam in 2005, 2006 and 2008 (2nd in 2007).
8) What is the on-call schedule?
We believe that exessive overnight call detracts from the ability of residents to devote full attention to their clinical and didactic experiences during the day and to enhance their education by continually reading on their own. Therefore, at this time our only formal call requirement is that PGY 1 residents take call in our Psychiatric Emergency Services one night each week during their six months of inpatient psychiatry and take one weekend day of call during one month of neurology. PGY 2-4 residents do not take evening or overnight call. As at all residencies, we cannot guarantee that the on-call schedule will not change, but this has been the typical schedule over the recent years at our program.
9) Are residents allowed to moonlight?
Yes. Once licensed, residents may moonlight as long as it does not interfere with their training or violate ACGME work hour restrictions or county policies. Many residents moonlight on weekends in Psychiatric Emergency Services and consider it a useful addition to their clinical training. Any moonlighting is considered work outside the residency, and residents must arrange their own pay and malpractice coverage with the employer of the moonlighting job.
10) What are your research opportunities?
We actively encourage our residents’ research interests, and, we provide various research opportunities. Past residents have pursued and published research work at Stanford University and UCSF, and San Mateo County Health Department conducts community-psychiatry, research projects. Interested residents are welcome to join in established county projects or to develop research projects of their own.
11) Which medical schools did your residents and fellows attend?
Brown, Drexel, Ross, Stanford (2), SUNY, UC Davis (2), UCLA (2), UCSD, UCSF (3), U of Maryland, U of Nebraska, USC (2).
12) Which colleges did your residents and fellows attend?
Brown (2), Bryn Mawr, Chadron State, Cornell, George Washington, Pomona, Princeton, Stanford (2), UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA (2), UCSD, U of Maryland, U of Pennsylvania, USC.
13) Where did your residents and fellows obtain other degrees?
MHP: Columbia, MPH: UC Berkeley.
14) Are any residents International Medical Graduates (IMGs)?
We have previously accepted some IMGs. Please refer to the IMG requirements at www.ecfmg.org/eras. Do you sponsor J-1 or H-1B visas? - No, we do not sponsor any Visas. Do you require U.S. clinical experience? - This is highly desirable, along with a letter of recommendation from the supervisor of this experience. Do you have a minimum USMLE score requirement? - No, but higher scores are obviousley more competitive. Do you have a gradution year cutt-off? - No, but we do look to see if you have been active in medicine or research since graduation. IMGs. Do you offer externships? - Yes, however, externs must be currently enrolled in a U.S. medical school.
15) Do you have a medical student externship program?
Yes. Medical student externs rotate on our psychiatric inpatient service, although we are not able to accommodate all the medical students who apply. This externship provides an excellent view of public psychiatry. If you are considering our program, this is an excellent way for you to get to know us. Externs must be currently enrolled in a U.S. medical school and have finished their core rotation in psychiatry. Contact the Program Coordinator (contact information) for more information.
16) Do your residents make contributions beyond the residency?
Several of our residents have published articles, made scientific presentations, given grand rounds, won various awards, and were elected to positions in organized psychiatry. They have also served in our county on peer-review panels, task forces, and committees. In our Community, they have spoken about psychiatric topics to high school students, ethnic groups, EMT students, and non-physician clinicians.
17) Do you have a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship?
Yes, we sponsor, in conjunction with Stanford University, a child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship that especially emphasizes experience in community and child and adolescent psychiatry. It is administered through Stanford University. See their website at http://childpsychiatry.stanford.edu/training and the description of the community child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at http://childpsychiatry.stanford.edu/training/Track_Rotation/community_track.pdf
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