The Training Office: A conversation about mental health by trainees, for trainees.

Creativity is a concept that is often considered too broad, too vague and too nuanced to incorporate into the structured world of residency. But can exploring the world of the abstract help us to become more astute, caring and well-rounded physicians?  Dr.Rossi, PGY4 at Cooper University Hospital, discusses his experience with exploring various avenues of creative expression, including advocacy and social media outreach. We di...

The "B" word comes with multiple implications. From the shame associated with the lack of performance to implications about what it could mean as future obstacles present themselves, many clinicians do everything they can to avoid brining up their suffering to supervisors. How can we reframe the concept of burnout to ensure that people respond rather than react? The co-hosts of the Shrinking Burnout podcast, Dr. Andrew Wu and Dr. V...

The concept of peer mentorship is often discussed in vague, non-specific ways within the context of residency. Why is mentorship such an essential piece of the training experience and what can trainees gleam from ensuring that they gleam all they can from their mentors? Dr.Alaa ElNajjar, a child/adolescent psychiatry fellow at Albert Einstein School of Medicine, discusses Buddies Space: an innovative project aimed at connecting tra...

The American Psychiatric Association is the largest organization of psychiatric professionals in the world. While residents and fellows are often members of the APA, most are not aware of what kinds of opportunities for career advancement such organizations can provide. Dr.Rebecca Brendel, a psychiatrist, lawyer and advocate for organizational psychiatry, shares personal stories of how she became involved with the APA and how train...

International medical graduates (IMGs) make up nearly one fourth of the trainee work-force across medical specialties. Moving from one country to another, dealing with the nuances of a foreign language and the culture shock of working in the United States often leaves many IMGs feeling isolated and disengaged. How can training programs support the unique needs of our IMG colleagues? I speak to Dr.Souparno Mitra, a PGY2 in New York ...

Equity in health care is a challenging and often overlooked endeavor. As trainees, we often don't realize that we can take initiative in empowering patients with resources, education and appropriate outlets to meet their needs outside of the clinical setting. Dr.Khandai, a C/L psychiatrist at the University of Illinois Chicago speaks about how we can all take steps to ensure that we are aware of biases in the clinical setting and h...

Program directors are the proverbial "boss" of a training program. While they may not be engaged with residents and fellows on a daily basis, their input and expertise is what makes or breaks the culture of a program. So what should trainees look for in a program director when deciding to choose or rank a program? Dr.Lindsay Poplinski, a PGY2 in psychiatry at Ohio Riverside Methodist Hospital, shares her insight into the qualities ...

While our training programs often ensure that our clinical acumen is up-to-date, they often fall short of preparing us for the harsh business realities of life outside of training. What lessons should training programs breach to ensure a smooth transition from training to practice? Dr. Jenice Kim, a recent graduate of the USC psychiatry training program and new attending, shares her insights about the challenges she faced as she wa...

The concept of wellness looks very different now that it did one year ago. How has the idea of physician wellness evolved since the onset of COVID and what can trainees do to ensure they are making their own mental health a priority? Dr.Nausheen Syed, a PGY3 at the University of Maryland Medical Center, shares her insights about how her training program has handled the uniques challenges to trainee wellness that have transpired sin...

Being an LGBTQ+ individual comes with its own share of joys and challenges. How are those challenges exacerbated when one decides to come out during training? Dr. William Johansen, a new attending physician, shares his personal journey of coming out during. He speaks candidly about what allowed him to thrive and what he would like to see change within training program infrastructure as it pertains to support for LGBTQ+ trainees.&nb...