title: Reproductive Psychiatry Residency Training: A Survey of Psychiatric Residency Program Directors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The reproductive life cycle has unique influences on the phenotypic expression of mental illness in women. Didactic and clinical training focused on these sex-specific influences should be a vital component of the education of future psychiatrists. The authors sought to determine the current state of and attitudes toward reproductive psychiatry in resident education.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors administered a web-based survey to psychiatry residency training directors. They assessed the availability of both mandated and optional didactic and clinical training experiences in reproductive psychiatry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty residency program directors answered the survey, for a response rate of 28%. More than half of residency program directors (59%) reported requiring some training in reproductive psychiatry. Both the breadth and depth of topics covered varied greatly among programs. Lack of time (48%) and lack of qualified faculty (26%) were the most frequently cited barriers to more training. Only 40% of residency directors surveyed agreed that all residents should be competent in reproductive psychiatry.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that specific training in reproductive psychiatry is inconsistent in US residency programs, and that training that does exist varies considerably in clinical time and content. Given that women comprise more than 50% of all psychiatric patients and most women will menstruate, give birth, and undergo menopause, future psychiatrists would benefit from more systematic instruction in this area. The authors propose the development of a national, standardized reproductive psychiatry curriculum to address this gap and aid in producing psychiatrists competent to treat women at all stages of life.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. lmosborne@jhmi.edu.
authors.forename: Lauren M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Osborne
authors.affiliation: The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors.forename: Joanna V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: MacLean
authors.affiliation: University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Erin Murphy
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Barzilay
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meltzer-Brody
authors.affiliation: Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Hines, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah Nagle
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D060728:Reproductive Health / Q000193:education*
keywords: Curriculum; Reproductive psychiatry; Residency education; Women’s mental health