Message from the Residency Director

This is an exciting time in Psychiatry.  There continues to be an explosion of information about neuropathology and treatment of mental illness, some of which is validating psychodynamic concepts.

Resident training is also very dynamic.  In addition to psychodynamics, psychiatrists also need to understand pharmacodynamics, the dynamics of team leadership, the dynamics of therapeutic alliance with patients, dynamics of healthcare delivery systems, and the dynamically changing evidence base for treating mental illness.

A training program should also be a dynamic place which strives to provide a supportive learning environment where professional and personal growth can flourish.  Residents should have access to a wide range of education resources spanning the range from individual psychotherapy supervision to electronic access to journals and reference materials.  Classes should be delivered in a way which supports learning and critical thinking.  I believe that a Psychiatry Residency program should also be dynamic in the sense of changing in response to the input as well as the needs of residents.  Over the eight years I have been associated with this program, I have seen tremendous progress.

It has been remarkable to observe and participate in the transformation of bright, motivated physicians into competent, well-rounded psychiatrists.  Our residents have been consistently successful in the post-residency world, whether obtaining subspecialty Fellowships, entering academic medicine or treating patients in the public sector or private practice settings.

Thank you for your interest in our program.

Timothy Dellenbaugh, M.D.
Residency Director
Associate Professor of Psychiatry
University of Missouri-Kansas City

The four-year Psychiatry Residency Program at the UMKC School of Medicine accepts six new PGY1 residents each year. The program is based at Western Missouri Mental Health Center, which is located on Hospital Hill.

Curriculum
Faculty/Scholarly Activity
Partner Hospitals
Accreditation
UMKC School of Medicine
Application Information
Other Information

Curriculum

  • PGY-1: Six months inpatient psychiatry at Western Missouri Mental Health Center (WMMHC), four months  internal medicine at Veterans Administration Health Services of Eastern Kansas (VA) and WMMHC; two months neurology at Truman Medical Center (TMC)
  • PGY-2: Four months emergency psychiatry, two months child psychiatry, and one month  inpatient psychiatry at WMMHC; two months consultation-liason psychiatry at TMC; one month addiction psychiatry and one month geriatric psychiatry at the VA.
  • PGY-3: Twelve months outpatient psychiatry, including psychotherapy, community psychiatry, medication management and continuity clinics at Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health.
  • PGY-4: Six months inpatient psychiatry at WMMHC and six months electives

There are at least five hours of didactic learning sessions per week, in addition to a weekly case conference, journal club and Grand Rounds.

Residents gain teaching experience by teaching medical students and by presenting Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds.

All residents are required to complete a research project or scholarly activity by the end of their senior year and present this project at Grand Rounds and complete a manuscript suitable for submission.

Blackboard is now utilized by the Department of Psychiatry as a resource for academic activities. It serves as an easily accessible repository for a wide variety of current educational documents.

The Department of Psychiatry has partnered with the Health Science Library at the School of Medicine to ensure universal access by faculty members and residents to a wide collection of journals and texts on-line.

The program provides residents with all required texts and an allowance to be used for the purchase of PDAs (hand-held, electronic data management devices).

Residents participate in a monthly meeting of the residents’ association and a monthly group meeting with the program director. Individual performance reviews and education planning sessions with the program director occur at least twice a year.

Faculty/Scholarly Acivity

Twenty full-time and four part-time psychiatrist faculty members provide attending physician supervision and care in our clinical departments at WMMHC and TMC-BHN. Addtional clinical faculty members are located at St. Luke's Hospital and the VA Medical Center training sites. Ongoing areas of scholarly interest include suicide prevention, psychopharmacology, management of serious and persistent mental illness, psychotherapy and clinical operations quality improvement.

Partner Hospitals

Psychiatry residents receive a broad range of experience at Western Missouri Mental Health Center, Truman Medical Center, The Veterans Administration Health Services of Eastern Kansas, and St. Luke's Hospital System.

Western Missouri Mental Health Center, the home base for the Residency Program, provides acute psychiatric care to

patients from Kansas City and the western part of Missouri, specializing in active treatment for the most seriously ill patients. WMMHC completes over 6,000 evaluations each year with approximately 2,000 inpatient admissions. An additional 1,600 patients receive services in the 10-bed Extended Observation Unit. WMMHC recently opened a new 220,000 square foot facility with four inpatient units - three 25-bed units for adults and one 10-bed unit for children and adolescents. WWMHC faculty also provide clinical services at Truman Medical Center Behavioral Health Network, an outpatient community mental health center. Behavioral Health averages 15,000 patient visits each year, provides consultation liaison psychiatric services to TMC's medical, surgical and emergency services, and operates several clinics.


Truman Medical Center Hospital Hill provides a broad array of acute and outpatient services to a diverse patient population. The medical center is known for excellence in emergency and level I trauma services and also is recognized for programs in asthma, diabetes; HIV/AIDS services; obstetrics/high risk obstetrics, and women's health.  On an annual basis, the 237-bed medical center admits more than 11,500 patients, provides more than 212,000 outpatient visits and has over 54,000 emergency department visits. TMC has 329 physicians on staff.

Accreditation

The program holds full accreditation from the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. The next site visit will be in 2011.

UMKC School of Medicine

The UMKC School of Medicine offers 41 ACGME-sponsored residency and subspecialty residency programs. The School also offers an innovative six-year baccalaureate/doctor of medicine degree program that provides progressively increasing clinical experience beginning in year one. Students enter the medical school directly out of high school. The School of Medicine and its programs include more than 600 medical students, 645 full-time and 512 volunteer faculty, and 450 residents and fellows. The School of Medicine partners with Children’s Mercy Hospital, Saint Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City, Truman Medical Centers, Western Missouri Mental Health Center, and the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Application Information

Thank you for your inquiry into the program at UMKC - Dept. of Psychiatry. We are glad you are interested in our program and are looking forward to receiving your application. 

Here is information that you might find helpful about our program:

General information:

  • The residency program reviews all apllications received through ERAS to determine who will be offered an interview.
  • Interviews begin October of 2007 and are usually held on Tuesdays and Thursdays
  • Interviews usually begin at 8:00 a.m. and finish by 3-4:00 p.m.
  • The deadline for applications is 11/30/07
  • Any year of graduation is considered
  • Applicants will receive free lodging at a local hotel and dine with residents prior to the interview.

We accept applications through ERAS only and they should include:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal statement
• Dean's letter
• Letters of reference (3)
• Copy of med school transcript (and diploma if available)
• ECFMG certificate, if applicable
• Copies of Step 1 & 2 score results (& 3 if applicable, maximum 3 attempts)

Some requirements for acceptance into the program include:

• PASS Steps 1 & 2 of the USMLE or COMLEX  (maximum 3 attempts)
• Be scheduled to graduate from a US medical school by 6/1

Additional requirements for International Medical Graduates:

• Be ECFMG certified at the time of your application
• Have at least one year clinical experience in an English Speaking system (preferred)
• Be able to work in this country (as a US citizen or permanent resident, or under an J-1 or H-1b visa)

Best of luck with the application process!  If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.

Other Information

Salary:
The salaries are as follows (effective 7-1-2007).
PG-1 - $42.320
PG-2 - $43,730
PG-3 - $45,380
PG-4 - $46,890

Frequently Asked Questions

For additional information about the residency program, applications and the curriculum, please contact: Rhonda Hughes, Program Coordinator, 1000 E 24th Street, Kansas City, MO 64108, Rhonda.hughes@dmh.mo.gov, Ph: 816-512-7439, Fax: 816-512-7440