Educational Curriculum and Support in the UW Psychiatry Residency Program

The UW Psychiatry residency program offers protected didactics one half-day per week on Thursdays. Didactics are grouped into modules that span across four years and are updated yearly by an appointed faculty member and instructional designer. To ensure the highest quality of education, residents have an opportunity to provide feedback on their didactics through weekly evaluations that are sent to didactic presenters, module leaders, and the curriculum committee. Evaluations give an opportunity to comment on the content of the didactic, the learning strategies used by the presenter, and how well the presenter includes EDI-related content and creates an inclusive learning environment.

Training Activities and Curriculum

Didactics are held at the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning located on the University of Washington Medical Center Northwest Campus. In addition to these sessions, residents also attend:

• Weekly Departmental Grand Rounds on Fridays during the academic year.
• Site-based journal clubs and resident-led educational activities at each hospital site during R1 and R2 years.
• Psychotherapy seminars at each continuity clinic site during R2 and R3 years.
• A 6-month seminar on countertransference during R3 year called Clinical Interactions Seminar.

Professional development is a core component of the program. For instance, R4s are given an opportunity to teach the R1s and R2s at Harborview Medical Center Noon Conference. The Teacher Scholar Pathway also offers interested residents the opportunity to engage in educational activities within psychiatry and other disciplines.

Education Consult Service

The Psychiatry Residency Program offers confidential, non-evaluative support to faculty and residents who teach didactics. Consults aim to enhance curriculum quality through expert review and constructive feedback, ensuring alignment with best educational practices, ACGME guidelines, and institutional goals. The residency aims to have every didactic reviewed at least once every 3-5 years to ensure that the curriculum is up-to-date and reflects best practices.

How the Consultation Process Works

Anyone teaching a didactic – whether faculty, fellow, or resident – can request an education consult. Consult requests can be made in two ways: via the Didactic Consult Request Form or by emailing [email protected]. Consults may be completed by an Instructional Designer or by a resident or faculty representative of the Curriculum Committee.

Most consults are conducted asynchronously through review and written feedback ahead of the didactic. Consults can also be a combination of asynchronous review followed by a synchronous didactic observation. The format depends on the lecturer’s preference, consultant availability, and the nature of the consult focus.

Feedback and Priorities

Asynchronous consults typically require 1-2 hours for the consultant to review and provide feedback. Lecturers should submit their materials at least one week prior to their didactic. The consultant will review the materials and provide suggestions prior to the didactic for the lecturer to review and make changes. The consult service’s priorities include:

• Increasing active and case-based learning.
• Improving relevance and clinical applicability for the level of training.
• Enhancing the incorporation of principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion throughout the curriculum.

It is important to note that consults are informal, private, and non-evaluative. Unless permission is expressly granted by the lecturer to share, consult feedback is sent only to the lecturer.

Impact and Faculty Testimonials

The following data demonstrates the effectiveness of the Education Consult Service as of September 2025:

• Total consultations completed: 32
• Average improvement in didactic ratings: 13%

Participants have shared positive experiences regarding the service. One faculty member stated, “I highly recommend an education and DEI consult! Sara was exceptionally timely, made many of the recommended changes directly for me, provided articles as references for the changes suggested, and directly linked me to more inclusive graphics for my slides.” Another added, “I’ve done a handful of consults with Sara now, and it feels like I’m cheating! She comes up with strategies that I would never have thought of to increase engagement.”