Educating psychiatry residents in neuropsychiatry and neuroscience

Abstract

Neuropsychiatry and psychiatric neuroscience should be part of the general psychiatry curriculum so that graduate psychiatrists will be able to allow their patients the benefit of neuroscientifically informed diagnosis and treatment. Current neurology and neuroscience educational requirements for US psychiatry training are reviewed. The draft milestone requirements for clinical neuroscience training as part of the US Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's Next Accreditation System are also provided. Suggestions for the neuropsychiatric and neuroscience content of psychiatry residency training are made, along with a description of pedagogic methods and resources. Survey data are reviewed indicating agreement by programme directors with the importance of neuroscience training and an increase in the amount of time devoted to this area. Faculty staff development in neuropsychiatry and neuroscience literacy will be needed to provide high quality training in these areas.

Declaration of interest: The author reports no conflicts of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of the paper.