Neuroscience in Psychiatry Training: How Much Do Residents Need To Know?

Abstract

While psychiatric residency programs continue to increase the neuroscience content of their curricula, it remains unclear how this added training will influence clinical work. Reframing current practices, including psychotherapy, into a neuroscientific context may ultimately prove more useful to trainees.

Stepping stones for psychiatry residents who pursue scientific research careers

“…2012;Dunstone, 2010;Roffman et al, 2006). Excellent efforts have been made to develop neuroscience courses and curricula for psychiatry residents, notably by junior faculty members with strong neuroscience backgrounds who are interested in psychiatric education and training.…”

“…Experts have explained that this gap is due to the fact that many of these basic scientifi c discoveries have yet to be successfully translated to the clinical problems seen in psychiatry. This translation is emerging and promising, but has yet to be attained (Roffman et al, 2006;Rubin & Zorumski, 2012). Others have pointed out that there is increasing scientifi c evidence that the customary approach taken by psychiatrists to categorize and diagnose disorders as clusters of observable behaviours and clinical symptoms, i.e.…”

Increasing Genetic Education for Psychiatric Residents

“…Despite the current absence of formal requirements for genetics education in psychiatry, residency training directors from the United States and Canadawhen surveyed regarding the current and future integration of neuroscience topics into psychiatric training-recently cited genetics as one of the top areas of growth in, and increasing importance for, psychiatry. 20 How can we best educate all psychiatric residents regarding genetics? A first step would be a mandate from the accrediting body, the Psychiatry Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, that all psychiatry residency programs provide genetics education relevant to psychiatry.…”

Introduction

“…Psychiatry residency training directors are already incorporating concepts salient to biomarker use as part of their neuroscience curricula, 6 and current practitioners will require a new working vocabulary to implement these tools as they become available. We hope that this special issue will serve as a primer as our field prepares for a new era of clinical decision making-one that relies less on art, and more on science.…”