Didactic Seminars and Conferences

Residents have a half-day of protected teaching time every week, dedicated to Didactic Lectures, Seminars, Journal Club and Grand Rounds.

R-1 and R-2 didactics are completed during training in Seattle. Didactic lectures in Spokane combine third and forth year residents in a small, interactive teaching format and lectures rotate on a two-year cycle. Didactics are taught by Spokane faculty as well as guest lecturers from the University of Washington and other institutions. We have three major teaching modules: Advanced Psychopharmacology, taught by our Program Director; a 16 week module on Psychotherapies which uses a Team Based Learning format and extensive video and live case material; and Human Development over the Lifespan, which includes Child Psychiatry and Development, Adult Development and Geriatric Psychiatry.  We have minor modules on Suicide and Violence Risk Assessment, Addictions and Co-Occurring Disorders, Evidence-Based Psychiatry, Preparation for Practice, Cross-Cultural Psychiatry, Diagnostic Evaluation, Ethics, Forensic and Legal Issues in Psychiatry, Sexuality, Spirituality and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry.  Lectures are also incorporated to meet the particular interests of our current resident group.

Clinical Interaction Seminar
This runs yearly over a six-month period and incorporates a Psychiatric Interviewing Course with live demonstrations of clinical interviews, a Combined Treatment with Pharmacotherapy and Psychotherapy course, and Case Discussion of resident interactions focusing on the elements of the patient psychiatrist relationship.

Brief Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Seminar
This runs yearly over a 6-month period and has been a consistent highlight of our program, much beloved by graduating psychiatrists.  It is taught by Cliff Green, M.D., an experienced psychotherapist in Private Practice here in Spokane, and focuses on the teaching of Habib Davenloo, a pioneer in the development of Short term Psychodynamic Psychotherapy.  The seminar is highly interactive; using both videotaped patient interviews that are examined in detail as well as interview modeling and rehearsal.

Grand Rounds
Psychiatry Grand Rounds are held monthly at both Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Spokane Mental Health. Recent topics have included Attachment Theory: The Circle of Security Approach, Child Mental Health Systems of Care, Crisis Intervention and Gangs by the Spokane Police Department and Hepatitis C: The Role of Consultation Liaison Psychiatry.  Grand Rounds at Sacred Heart are approved for 1.0 hour of CME credit each. Spokane Mental Health Grand Rounds are incorporated into the training calendar for multidisciplinary clinical staff.

Journal Club
Journal Club is a stimulating arena for discussion of recent topics of interest in psychiatry. This year’s discussion has included analyses of articles ranging from the Cochrane Systematic Review of Randomized Trials of Pharmacotherapy for Borderline Personality disorder, Omega Fatty Acid Therapy for Prevention of Psychosis, and Effectiveness of Antipsychotic Drugs in Schizophrenia to a Meta Analysis of Comparative Antidepressant Effects and Acceptability in 12 New Generation Antidepressants.

T-Group
This is a weekly meeting led by an experienced T-group facilitator, designed to allow residents a confidential setting in which they can openly discuss their training experiences, examine challenging patient situations and receive advice and support from both their peers and our T-group leader.