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Community Psychiatry Seminar Series

The Philadelphia Connections Community Psychiatry Seminar Series project
came about as a result of Connections’ efforts to find ways to increase recruitment
and retention of good psychiatrists in the Philadelphia Behavioral Health System (BHS).
After Connections conducted a survey of all psychiatry residency programs
in the Philadelphia area it was discovered that several of the programs had no formal
community psychiatry curriculum, even though all programs have residents in a
considerable number of community agencies (report is available on request; click on
"Contact Us" in navigation bar to right for contact information).

Based on input from residency programs, residents, and BHS providers, Connections
funded a pilot project involving a series of six seminars at each of three general
psychiatry residency programs: Jefferson, Drexel/Hahnemann, and Einstein.
The programs made the series mandatory for PGY2 or PGY4 residents in
the 2007-2008 school year, the feedback was extremely positive, and all three schools
asked to continue the series in the 2008-2009 school year.

Other area residency programs have also expressed an interest in the series.
We are hopeful that the Connection series or other community psychiatry courses
will become a permanent part of all psychiatry residency programs in the Philadelphia area.

Topics in the series currently include an orientation to the structure and programs
of the BHS, family and consumer perspectives, addictions services in the BHS,
best practices and special programs in the BHS, and roles, careers, and
professional issues in community psychiatry.

This page was updated on May 5, 2004.