title: Required and Elective Experiences During the 4th Year: An Analysis of ACGME Accredited Psychiatry Residency Program Websites.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to assess and describe required and elective components of the 4th post-graduate year (PGY4) in psychiatry residency programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed the websites of all 193 2014-2015 ACGME accredited psychiatry residency programs for content describing the specific components of the PGY4 year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly all residency programs (99 %) had some form of required experiences during the PGY4 year. Ninety-four percent had clinical requirements for PGY4 residents, with longitudinal outpatient clinic being the most common (77 %). All programs offered some elective time during PGY4, but the amount of time ranged from 2 months to 100 %.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Virtually all residency programs include some requirements in the 4th year (most commonly didactics and outpatient clinic) in addition to a broad array of elective experiences. Although 3 years may suffice for residents to complete ACGME requirements, a variety of factors may motivate programs to include required 4th year curricula. Future studies should explore the rationales for and possible benefits of programmatic requirements throughout 4 versus only 3 years of psychiatric training.
authors.affiliation: McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA. hvestal@partners.org.
authors.forename: Heather S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Vestal
authors.affiliation: Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Belitsky
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Carol A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Bernstein
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Deanna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chaukos
authors.affiliation: Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Mitchell B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Association of Women Psychiatrists, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Leah J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Dickstein
authors.affiliation: Keck School of Medicine at USC, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Donald M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Hilty
authors.affiliation: New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Lucy
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hutner
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ferda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sakman
authors.affiliation: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Etobicoke, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Stephen C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Scheiber
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Peoria, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Marika I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Wrzosek
authors.affiliation: Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Edward K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Silberman
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D003479:Curriculum; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D014481:United States
keywords: Curriculum; Electives; Medical education; Psychiatry; Requirements; Residency