A Day in the Life of a PGY-3
Terra Perry, M.D.
As a Third Year Resident, a typical day for me consists mostly of me being in the Outpatient Clinic. My workday starts after I arrive to the clinic and look over my schedule for the day. From 8:00 a.m. to 5:00p.m, I have the opportunity to see several different patients, each with multiple complaints. I work closely with each patient to come up with a treatment plan that is individualized to his or her specific problem. After seeing each patient, I discuss the plan with the Attending Physician on duty during that time. I love working in the clinic because I have a chance to spend more time with each patient while also strengthening my psychopharmacology knowledge base. Additionally, I spend one ½ day of each week working exclusively with my Psychotherapy patients. Working with these patients gives me the opportunity to learn more about and implement aspects of different forms of psychotherapy including, supportive, cognitive behavioral, and psychodynamic therapy. I also meet weekly with my supervisor to discuss my psychotherapy cases. Excitingly, with third year also comes a significant decrease in overnight calls in our Psychiatric ER. As a Co-chief, my Wednesday afternoons are dedicated to chief duties. I spend the time in meetings, planning Intern lectures, and organizing other residency activities. All in all, my third year experience brings with it more autonomy and opportunities to strengthen my skills, less stress, and more sleep!!!!!!
