Post-graduate year one (PGY-I), the internship year of the program, is evenly divided between medicine/neurology and psychiatry.
Medicine/Neurology Rotations
Each PGY-I resident spends 6 months on a selection of clinical services in medicine and neurology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. While on these rotations, residents work side-by-side with residents from the departments of Internal Medicine and Neurology and participate in all of the clinical, supervisory and educational activities of those departments. In each clinical setting, residents treat severely ill patients and work with patients and their families during times of crisis. By the end of the PGY-I year, the resident will be familiar with the assessment, diagnosis, and management of basic medical and neurological conditions. He/she will also be proficient in ACLS and BLS, and comfortable with management of medical and neurological emergencies at a basic level of care.
- 11 weeks: Medicine – NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- 8 weeks: Neurology – NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- 4-5 weeks: Emergency Medicine – NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
Psychiatry Rotations
Each PGY-I resident spends the other six months of the year working on clinical services in psychiatry. A majority of clinical rotations in the PGY-I year occur at Weill Cornell’s Westchester Division, the second-oldest free-standing psychiatric hospital in the country. Situated on 200 acres in bucolic Westchester county, the Westchester Division houses over 250 inpatient psychiatric beds for children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. Our PGY-I residents rotate through Westchester Division services including Geriatric Psychiatry, Inpatient Psychotic Disorders, and are supervised by nationally- and internationally-renowned faculty. PGY-I residents have a selective rotation for which they may choose among Inpatient Child Psychiatry, Inpatient Adolescent Psychiatry and Inpatient Eating Disorders. During the inpatient geriatric psychiatry rotation, residents receive hands-on training in the administration of ECT. Finally, each PGY-I resident rotates through the Psychiatric Emergency Department at the Manhattan campus. PGY-I on-call responsibilities cover the inpatient services at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital or at the Westchester Division.
- 4-5 weeks: Geriatric Psychiatry Inpatient Service/ECT – NYP/Westchester Division
- 4-5 weeks: Acute Schizophrenia Unit – NYP/Westchester Division
- 4-5 weeks: Second Chance Unit (Chronic Schizophrenia Unit)
- 4-5 weeks: Psychiatric Emergency Department – NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine in Manhattan
- 3-4 weeks: Psychiatry Selective (Inpatient Child, Inpatient Adolescent, or Inpatient Eating Disorders) – NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Behavioral Health Center
- 2-3 weeks: Night float
PGY-I Clinical Program
Didactics and Supervision
Supervision during the intern year is from faculty and senior residents on the clinical services, complemented by weekly supervision from specially selected PGY-I supervisors. In addition to supervision, every service includes its own site-based curriculum consisting of academic and clinical rounds, team meetings, case conferences, and specialty rounds. PGY-I residents attend Grand Rounds on both campuses, as well as Morbidity and Mortality conferences and Disorder of the Quarter sessions. PGY-I residents participate in the teaching of medical students rotating through psychiatry, medicine and neurology.
PGY-I Life
Although they are dispersed throughout our hospital, we make sure to keep in contact with our PGY-I’s through weekly Friday lunches, and regular, casual PGY-I dinners with the educational leadership. These meetings foster community in our residency, providing an opportunity for trainees to share experiences and develop group cohesion. All PGY-I’s are connected with an upper-class “buddy” to help with their orientation and connection.
Vacation: 4 weeks
