Public Psychiatry Education
Why have a Public Psychiatry curriculum?
Because we Must.
SUNY Downstate, as a public health-focused university, has always been involved in the overall healtcare of the community it serves. Since 2020, the Department of Psychiatry has specifically committed itself to recognizing and enriching our impact on Public Psychiatry with a focus through our Residency Training program. This includes an emphasis on teaching community psychiatric practice, mental health services and policy, and the broader context of community mental health. Spanning the PGY 1-4 years, we have established a curriculum in community based treatment of Serious Mental Illness (SMI), practice with vulnerable populations, models to increase access to care, studying inequity in mental health and healthcare, and careers in public psychiatry.
Our Public Psychiatry Education includes didactic teaching for all residents, special topics for Departmental Grand Rounds, on site learning with New York City’s historic and impactful community mental health practitioners, specialized electives for motivated residents, personalized residency mentorship for residents who wish to focus on Public Psychiatry, and professional guidance and collaboration on practice based learning projects to enrich residency training.
On Site Learning
SUNY Downstate Symposium on Partners in Care at Fountain House
June 2022 and June 2023
Fountain House (www.fountainhouse.org) hosted SUNY Downstate for an in depth look into their institution and their Partners in Care model for delivery of care to those with Serious Mental Illness. For most residents, this was their first direct exposure to the Clubhouse Model of community support for mental illness.
Downstate Residents’ Elective with Janian
2022-2023
Samuel Jackson, our Co-Director of Public Psychiatry Education and recent graduate of the residency program, completed an elective with Janian (https://www.cucs.org/wellness/janian-medical-care/) to serve in Supportive and Transitional Housing for people with Serious Mental Illness. He subsequently took an attending position with Janian right after residency graduation.
Downstate Residents’ Site Visit to the Door
Fall 2021 and Spring 2023
Downstate Psychiatry Residents visited this trailblazing organization, which has been dedicated to Young People through all disciplines of education, health, law, arts, and trade since 1972. Psychiatry plays an important role in this comprehensive ecosystem of support for New York City’s Young People. https://www.door.org/
Peer Specialists Training with PGY1 Residents
Spring 2021 and Spring 2022
Our current Academic Chief, Pranav Aurora, developed a training module for PGY1s to better understand the role of Peer Specialists and the value of Lived Experience in our healthcare teams. He has taught this for 4 consecutive years. Residents work directly with Peers in the classroom environment on a quality improvement project through this module. This will be a permanent fixture in our curriculum.
Arkaprava Deb
Director of Public Psychiatry Education
arkaprava.deb@downstate.edu
Samuel Jackson
SUNY Downstate Psychiatry Class of 2023
Co-Director of Public Psychiatry Education
samuel.jackson@downstate.edu