Psychiatry Residency

The Psychiatry Residency offers an exciting and comprehensive training experience, integrating cutting-edge neuroscience with deep psychological understanding. As a resident, you’ll benefit from our strong partnership with the U.S. Air Force and gain unparalleled career opportunities.

Psychiatry Residency at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

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Benefits and Salary

Current Residents

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About the Program

photo of suzie nelson — Suzie Nelson, M.D. Associate Professor, Program Director, Psychiatry Associate Professor, Pediatrics

Director of Residency Training and Director of Community Psychiatry: Suzie Nelson, M.D.

Thank you for your interest in the Wright State University Residency Training Program in Psychiatry. We are excited to teach and to train at Wright State, and hope your online tour of our program will convey our enthusiasm.

Choosing psychiatry as a career puts you in place to make the kind of human contact that has become rare in other specialties. It is a practical choice, too: Our senior residents find themselves deluged with desirable job offers both because the field is under supplied and because the quality of our graduates is nationally known.

Psychiatry is at a dynamic point in its history. Our knowledge of neuroscience is synthesizing with our understanding of human psychology. We are coming to identify the connections between history and chemistry, emotion and anatomy, brain and mind. Our faculty is rich with clinician scientists who will guide you in your training to see how the biopsychosocial network functions.

Wright State University faculty and residents regard learning as a shared opportunity. We are all partners in the task of increasing psychiatric knowledge. For over 30 years, our program is fully integrated with our education partner, United States Air Force. Each civilian class is joined by up to 5 military residents.

Explore our site, note our offerings, read what our residents and faculty have to say. We're sure you'll want to be part of our program!

Department Mission Statement

Psychiatry is an exciting, multidimensional specialty, growing and thriving in an era of expanding scientific knowledge. Since 1977, the Wright State University Integrated Psychiatry Residency Training Program has been dedicated to preparing the practitioners of psychiatric medicine to deal comfortably and effectively with emotional and behavioral issues through personal intervention.

The program is eclectic in philosophy, regarding expertise in biological, behavioral, social and psychodynamic perspectives as necessary capacities for the practice of contemporary psychiatry. Training equips the resident with the ability to treat patients of different ages, cultures, and gender with a broad range of modalities.

The program maintains a consistent focus on the role of the psychiatrist in the community. Consultation and liaison skills, and the ability to interact with other health professionals, are necessary elements of this focus. The roles of the psychiatrist in the medical profession and in society are always emphasized.

The integrated nature of our training program affords an unusual opportunity to meet these goals. Operating at a number of clinical sites involving public and private sectors, the program truly functions in partnership with the community. The educational experience we provide is effective preparation for the challenges the graduate will face in becoming a productive psychiatrist in the modern world.

Associate Training Directors

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I contact an alum from my school?

Write us at: som_psychres@wright.edu, and we’ll have someone get back to you.
What do your residents do after graduation from the program?
- Approximately a third of our graduates go on to complete a fellowship or other additional training.
- Nearly half of our graduates are in the military and go on to practice psychiatry around the world.
- Forty percent of our civilian graduates go on to practice psychiatry in community mental health centers, state hospitals or VA medical centers. Most of the remainder work in outpatient mental health group practices.
- Nearly two-thirds of our recent graduates have been involved in medical research within the last year.
- More than a third of our recent graduates have published an article in a peer-reviewed medical journal in the last year.
- More than half of our recent graduates are currently affiliated with a training institution. Seventy-five percent of our recent graduates instruct or supervise medical students, and 64 percent instruct or supervise psychiatry residents.
How do residents perform on the board exams?

Over the last eight years, 92 percent of our graduates have passed the Psychiatry Board Certification examination on their first attempt.
What’s the big deal about psychotherapy at Wright State?

We regard an in-depth understanding of the conscious and unconscious mind as a cornerstone of all psychiatry. Psychotherapy skills are beneficial in every interaction with patients. A thorough grasp of the psychological and social stresses on a patient leads to a more accurate diagnosis and formulation. A psychodynamic understanding of the patient often answers the question, “Why is this patient having trouble at this time.” Competence in numerous psychotherapeutic approaches allows the psychiatrist to make more nuanced and patient-centered interventions.

We emphasize an array of psychotherapy approaches from brief supportive therapy on inpatient units to long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy in our Resident Therapy Clinic. Starting in the second year, every resident gets time blocked on his or her schedule to provide ongoing weekly psychotherapy and to receive an hour of individual psychotherapy supervision. Virtually all sessions are video-recorded and can be reviewed with the supervisor. Additional supervision occurs in our Combined Case Conferences, which residents attend weekly throughout their training. Training in cognitive-behavior therapy, brief psychotherapy and marital/family therapy is provided with extra supervision available for those specialized skills. The place of psychotherapy in the curriculum is defined on the Curriculum page.
What is call like?

All call during psychiatry rotations is home call with regular access to the attending physicians via phone. R1s do not take night call while on psychiatry rotations.

In the R2 year, residents take home call every third or fourth night while on Psychiatric Inpatient rotations to address patient needs on the inpatient unit overnight with intermittent periods of admit call from the Emergency Department. (Frequency of admit call is site dependent). Additionally, R2s take call for the Wright-Patterson Medical Center (WPMC) ED. This call occurs approximately one night a week and one weekend a month; residents are called less than 50 percent of those evenings. Currently, there is no required call during third and fourth year.
Can I rotate with your program as a medical student? How do I set up this clerkship?

We encourage you to explore your interest in Wright State by pursuing an elective rotation with us.

Questions about arranging electives for visiting students should be directed to Dalila Bennett at som_scheduling@wright.edu. More information is posted on the Visiting Students page.
How do I set up an observership or externship?

We do not offer observorships or externships in Psychiatry.
Where can I find more information about…
Do your residents/faculty present at national meetings?

Yes, our faculty and residents are encouraged to present at national meetings such as the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training and the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting. Check the APA Guide to visit the Wright State session and reception.