While seeing patients and practicing medicine is a critical part of residency training, organized didactics and seminars are also critical for the development of the young psychiatrist. These formats allow residents to gain a deeper understanding of the scientific foundation of our field, current developments, and the likely path that we will be walking in the future.
Conferences and seminars
Our program’s didactic training can be divided into four main groups. The first group includes the routine Grand Rounds, general resident lecture series, and M&M Conferences that most programs provide their residents. The second group is comprised of specific summer series that prepare a specific resident cohort for the upcoming year. The third group–advanced resident lectures and Research Conference–is designed for PGY3s and 4s and allows them to delve into subjects in much more detail. Finally, the fourth group involves rotation-specific lectures and conferences.
Grand Rounds
Grand Rounds takes place weekly from mid-September to mid-May. Topics run the gamut from basic neuroscience to clinical topics.
General resident seminars
The Tuesday Resident Seminar series is designed to give residents the basic fund of knowledge needed for a psychiatrist practicing in today’s modern times. The seminars include a variety of modules, ranging from topics in leadership, clinical education, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Residents involved in our research program, PRREP, also have the opportunity to present their projects and continue to build on research and clinical skills. This is also the scheduled time for residents of all years to come together regularly for monthly program updates and check-in. Clinical topics throughout this series are planned to repeat on a three-year cycle.
Research conference & advanced resident seminars
On Wednesday mornings, the department sponsors Research Conference where university and national researchers present and discuss their on-going efforts at advancing our field. Advanced resident seminars for PGY3 and 4 residents are held on Thursday mornings and are organized into advanced topic “courses” that alternate every other year.
M&M Conference
M&M Conference is one of the residents’ most popular seminars. Each PGY4 resident and PGY5 child fellow prepares a clinical case of interest to that trainee. After presenting the case, the trainee reviews pertinent data from the literature and leads a discussion about the decisions that were made in the case. Below is a listing of the cases that were discussed in the previous year.
| Resident | Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Annie Chang, MD | 8/6/2025 | Catatonia in a Child with ASD |
| Thao Nguyen Bui, MD | 8/20/2025 | Catatonia, Delirium, or Both? |
| Zindzi Thompson, MD | 9/3/2025 | Adherence on the Edge: A Rollercoaster Case of Schizophrenia |
| Catherine La Starza, DO | 9/24/2025 | Movin’ Not Groovin’: A discussion on antipsychotic induced EPS |
| Brandon Kiley, MD | 10/8/2025 | Klingsor Syndrome: The Differential You Weren’t Taught in Medical School |
| Lena Jia, MD, MPH | 10/29/2025 | Psych Blames Liver, Liver Blames Psych |
| Tiana DiMasi, MD, MS | 11/12/2025 | Hidden in Plain Shakes |
| Kathryn Wrobel, MD | 12/10/2025 | Understanding the intersection between severe mental illness and HIV |
| Elias Smith, MD, MPH | 1/7/2026 | Management and Subsequent Care of a 17-year-old With Treatment Resistant Mania |
| Omaymah Al-Otoom, MD | 1/28/2026 | Caring for Immigrant Children in Psychiatry: Challenges, Risks, and Recommendations |
| Nicholas Kohler, MD | 2/18/2026 | I Can’t Stop Thinking About It |
| Ziad Ghantous, MD | 2/25/2026 | 10 years of dissociation: treatment-resistant or diagnosis-resistant? |
| Stephen Irwin, MD | 3/18/2026 | A case of violence in substance induced catatonia and psychosis |
| Swetha Uppalapati, DO | 4/8/2026 | Where do we go from here? Inpatient to outpatient disposition for catatonia |
| Brett Cutler, MD | 4/22/2026 | Self-amputation of the upper extremity in the setting of untreated psychosis |
| Rita Haddad, MD PGY2 Residents | 5/13/2026 | Quality Improvement Cases |
Summer series
During the summer months, residents attend summer seminars that are designed to prepare them for their upcoming year.