Overview

The University of Louisville General Psychiatry Residency Program is a well-balanced program offering a broad array of closely supervised clinical experiences. Dedicated faculty provide our residents with the knowledge and skills to become outstanding psychiatrists. The program strives to provide residents with the breadth of knowledge needed to gain clinical excellence. Our residency provides an extensive foundation for both pharmacologic and psychotherapeutic interventions. Our General Residency Program provides a comprehensive psychiatric education. Whether through formal didactics, journal clubs, clinical rounds, or informal discussions, our commitment to learning is clear. Excellence in clinical supervision is at the core of our program and supplementary supervision is available when requested. Exciting opportunities for program growth can be found in our expanding work with Peace Hospital programs. Research taking place in the department allows residents to learn from those adding cutting edge knowledge to the field. Many of our faculty and residents serve at the regional and national level in professional organizations. We value the benefits of professional networking. We encourage residents to attend national conferences, work with faculty on research projects and scholarly endeavors, and participate in professional organization sponsored fellowship programs. Our residents are work with and are supervised by faculty providing care in the academic clinical system, the private sector, the Veteran’s Administration system, the local community and beyond (via telepsychiatry) mental health system, and state hospital. Because of this diversity of training settings, we are successful in helping trainees gain the skills and expertise needed to work in a wide variety of settings after residency. Our strong commitment to educational excellence paired with Southern and Midwestern hospitality and charm makes the University of Louisville an exceptional place to train and call home.

Mission Statement

The University of Louisville Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences seeks to recruit outstanding students with a high sense of professionalism and compassion, a strong work ethic, intellectual curiosity, creativity and self-reflectiveness. Excellence in residency education is a department priority. Our goal is to graduate residents with the knowledge, clinical-skills, and experience to advance the field of psychiatry and become leaders in the profession.

Contact Information

To contact the Residency Office, please call (502) 588-4865, or email psychres@louisville.edu.

Meet the Training Office

Robert Caudill, M.D.

Training Director

Christy Castle-Greenwell, C-TAGME

Residency Program Coordinator

Email: psychres@louisville.edu
Phone:  (502) 588-4865

Message from the Director

Welcome to the website of the University of Louisville Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences residency program. We hope you enjoy your virtual visit with us and find what you are looking for. The material on the site should help you understand what we are looking for. We value Intellectual curiosity in our residents. We seek residents with a strong interest in human behavior as it relates to psychiatry. We consider these attributes to be the building blocks for the development of future psychiatrists.

Successful residents will have both the aptitude and the attitude to succeed in this specialty. The ability to understand and retain the ever-growing body of knowledge generated in psychiatry is an obvious pre-requisite. The attitude one brings to this study will greatly determine the quality of the experience. In acquiring a medical education, students have inevitably taken many “prerequisite” courses prior to choosing a specialty. Enthusiasm for seemingly unrelated and mandatory areas of study can vary. However, by the time one has arrived at their chosen field of study, the excitement and passion for the specialty should be palpable. Residency is not a time for complacency but is instead the opportunity to become fully immersed in one’s area of greatest professional interest. It is OK (desirable even) to be excited by the opportunity to learn and grow in one’s appreciation of the field . Our task is to create and maintain a residency environment that supports and nourishes this passion.

Our program provides the medical field with physicians who can further the knowledge and understanding of the specialty of psychiatry. We recognize that personal and professional growth is a key aspect of psychiatric education. Our program seeks a balance in the educational opportunities and approaches available to residents. We are fortunate to offer a wide variety of clinical settings with diverse patient populations. We have formal didactic sessions, journal clubs, grand rounds, case conferences, M&M’s, and a dedicated supervising faculty. Long before we all became telepsychiatrists, we were successful in recruiting residents wished to be among the “early adopters” and willing to embrace new technologies and techniques while holding firmly to what is known to be timelessly true. The latest fads and fashions in the field can be acknowledged while still retaining exposure to the hard won and time tested effective concepts that are unchanging. However, science is not “settled” here. To the degree allowed, we still encourage questions and discussion here. We help residents develop to the limits of their ability. Residents have different career interests and pursuits. We help our trainees recognize their potential in their areas of interest and achieve their goals.

Residents are active members of our department. They serve on committees within the University and within our department. In these roles they directly address the multiple issues facing the changing field of medical education. University of Louisville residents have their own governing body, the Residency Association. This group meets regularly and serves as an avenue for communication and advocacy within the program - as well as selection of on-call assignments. Residents are heavily involved in the recruitment and selection of their new colleagues. They play a role in the development and review of curricula. Resident driven projects are common. From quality improvement activities to telepsychiatry continuity clinics, we embrace change and new ideas.

The local environment is inevitably a major factor in any major life decision. Residency is no different. Louisville has been a city that has allowed many to flourish beyond the academic environment. It has offered natural beauty - our park system was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of Central Park in NYC and the Biltmore House grounds. Prior to the covid response, there were top quality cultural events (one of the nation's top regional theaters, a ballet and Broadway shows), college sporting events (and a minor league baseball team with a picturesque ballpark), museums, the zoo, great restaurants and fun neighborhoods. Louisville has been a wonderful place to call home.

Robert Caudill, M.D.
Director of Residency Education

Message from the Chair

This is the most exciting time in history to be in psychiatry, with amazing advances in our understanding of the brain's structure and function, and tremendous innovation in treatment. Our department's programs capture this excitement, combining information from the latest scientific advances with the best of our humanistic traditions. We continue to grow, with ongoing expansion of our education, clinical, and research programs. We are especially excited about our new special focus tracks in our residency program.

Education has long been the central priority for our faculty, and the success of our undergraduate program, recruiting twice the national average of students into careers in psychiatry for over two decades, and the residency and fellowships recruiting a full cadre of outstanding young colleagues year after year, proves it. Our residents are repeatedly recognized nationally by receiving competitively awarded travel fellowships and program awards.

As you look through these pages, our program's diversity and breadth will be apparent. But, of course, the only way to experience the excitement in our department is to come for a visit. We'll be glad to give you a warm Kentucky welcome!

David A. Casey, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences