The chief resident in psychiatry: roles and responsibilities.
OBJECTIVE
Psychiatric residency programs have had chief residents for many years, and several articles previously published describe the chief residents' unique role as both faculty and resident. This article describes chief resident roles and responsibilities and explores trends in academic psychiatry departments from 1995 to 2006.


METHODS
The authors mailed a survey about the roles and responsibilities of chief resident positions to psychiatric residency training directors using the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) mailing list in 1995 and e-mailed the AADPRT e-mail list in 2006. Data were collected by mail in 1995 and collected in 2006 by a web-based survey similar to the instrument used in 1995.


RESULTS
Joint selection of chief resident by faculty and residents, 12-month terms, protected time for administrative duties, and written job descriptions were helpful features common to most programs.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results demonstrate that the majority of general psychiatry residency programs use the joint selection method with a negotiated job description, as well as a 12-month term.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 2230 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. rflim@ucdavis.edu
Russell F
RF
Lim
Eric
E
Schwartz
Mark
M
Servis
Paul D
PD
Cox
Alan
A
Lai
Robert E
RE
Hales
D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003479:Curriculum / Q000639:trends; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007587:Job Description; D010560:Personnel Selection; D008486:Physician Executives; D010819:Physician's Role; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States