Application Process

Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS), which is administered by the Association of American Medical Colleges. AAMC developed ERAS to transmit residency applications, letters of recommendation, dean's letters, transcripts, and other supporting credentials from applicants and medical schools to residency directors using the Internet.

Additional requirements and documentation are as follows:

    • a completed application,
    • medical school transcript,
    • Dean’s letter,
    • three letters of reference,
    • a personal statement,
    • a picture,
    • USMLE Step 1 Board scores (no minimum)
    • USMLE Step 2 CS and Step 2 CK scores prior to start of residency
    • International/Foreign, Canadian and osteopathic medical graduates should consult ERAS for application instructions.

Please note:

    • We sponsor J-1 visas.
    • International medical school graduates must be ECFMG certified by the start of residency.
    • We do not have a cut off for number of years since graduating medical school.
    • Clinical experience in the United States is preferred, but not required.

Rotations:

The PGY-1 year consists of one-month blocks, consisting of the following rotations: 

One month of emergency medicine at Tufts Medical Center, working directly with emergency department attendings, during which the PGY-1 resident become acquiainted with treating patients medically in the acute emergency setting, in addition to learning the processes in place for consulting other services.

Two months of adult internal medicine or pediatrics at Tufts Medical Center, during which the PGY-1 resident is exposed to treating either adult or pediatric patients in the acute inpatient medicine setting. Patient presentations and treated conditions vary significantly between teams. Each PGY-1 resident is assigned to a treatment team, which consists of 1-2 PGY-1 internal medicine residents, a PGY-2 or PGY-3 medicine resident, and an attending. PGY-1 residents have "long call" every fourth day, when they are remain in hospital for admissions until 8:00pm. There are frequent medicine lunchtime didactics which provide a broad educational experience during this rotation.

One month of medicine consult, during which the resident works directly with a PGY-3 internal medicine resident and attending, consulting on patients on the surgical, psychiatric, neurology, or other services that request medicine consultations. There is no call or "long day" requirement during this month.

Two months of neurology at Tufts Medical Center, during which the PGY-1 resident works with the neurology consultation service, working with neurology residents and attendings, seeing patients from the medicine, surgery, psychiatric, or other services who have requested a neurology consultation. There are frequent conferences and opportunities to expand on knowledge of neurology. 

One month of substance abuse at Arbour Hospital in Jamaica Plain, MA. During this rotation, the PGY-1 resident works directly with Dr. Medhat Migeed who specializes in substance abuse, acquainting the resident with dual-diagnosis patients. The unit is a locked dual-diagnosis unit, and during this month, the resident becomes familiar with treating psychiatric patients with co-morbid substance abuse or dependence. Emphasis is made on treating alcohol and opiate withdrawal, in the setting of mood, psychotic, and personality disorders. This rotation is voted most highly by the resident classes!

One month of emergency psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center. During this rotation, the PGY-1 resident works with a senior PGY-2 through PGY-3 resident and directly staffs patients with the consultation/liaison attending, seeing patients exclusively in the emergency department for whom psychiatry has been consulted. This is a busy service, and allows the resident to become familiar with psychiatric triage, disposition planning, and the process for admitting patients to the Tufts Medical Center and other inpatient psychiatry units. 

Four months combined of adult inpatient psychiatry and consultation/liaison psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center. During these months, the PGY-1 resident works on a team consisting of medical students, other PGY-1 and/or PGY-2 psychiatry residents, and the inpatient and consultation/liaison attendings. During the inpatient psychiatry month, the PGY-1 resident works on a team with one other resident, several medical and PA students, and one attending, generally caring for 5-6 patients per day, on a 20-bed inpatient unit. The consultation/liaison experience varies, but is generally very busy, consisting of seeing patients requiring psychiatry consultations with a broad range of pathology and goals for treatment. Teams there consist of two residents, PGY-1 and/or PGY-2, several medical and PA students, and the consultation/liaison attending. 

Didactics:

PGY-1 residents attend weekly psychiatry didactics on Wednesday afternoons during psychiatry, neurology, and emergency medicine rotations. There are frequently separate didactic experiences for each individual rotation, as well, within the medicine and neurology departments.

"Long Day":

During neurology and psychiatry rotations, the PGY-1 has several "long days"  per month, consisting of staying from 5-8pm on weekdays or 8am-8pm on weekends with direct supervision from the senior on-call resident. The PGY-1 resident sees psychiatric consult patients in the ED or on the general medical floors with the senior resident, then staffing them with the attending. This is on a rotating schedule with other PGY-1 residents.

While on Tufts Medical Center adult internal medicine, the PGY-1 resident has a similar "long day" schedule, until 8pm on weekdays or weekends, with roughly a Q4 schedule.

During the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital adult internal medicine month, "long day" lasts until 6pm, again, generally Q4, with one week of night float, supervised by a PGY-3 medicine resident

Rotations:

The PGY-2 year consists of one-month rotation blocks that include:

Four to six months of adult inpatient psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center. During the inpatient psychiatry month, the PGY-2 resident works on a team with one other resident, generally a PGY-1 resident, several medical and PA students, a social worker, an occupational therapist, nursing staff, mental health workers, and one of the two inpatient attendings, generally caring for 5-6 patients per day, on a locked 20-bed inpatient unit. The unit experiences a great variety of pathology, including severe mood,  psychotic, and personality disorders, with patients from diverse culture and socio-economic backgrounds. 

Three to four months of consultation/liaison psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center. During these months, the PGY-2 resident works on a team consisting of medical students, other PGY-1 and/or PGY-2 psychiatry residents, and the inpatient and consultation/liaison attending. The consultation/liaison experience varies, but is generally very busy, consisting of seeing patients requiring psychiatry consultations with a broad range of pathology (mood and psychotic disorders, delirium, personality disorders, substance abuse/dependence, and more) and goals for treatment. Teams there consist of two residents, PGY-1 and/or PGY-2, several medical and PA students, and the consultation/liaison attending.

One month of inpatient child psychiatry at North Shore Hospital. Residents rotate on a 30 bed hospital unit and participate in all aspects of inpatient care, including initial assessments of children and adolescents, pharmacotherapy, and multidisciplinary team treatment. There is also exposure to child/adolescent outpatient clinic that will be part of the schedule PGY-3 year.

One month of geriatric psychiatry at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Medford, MA. During this rotation, the PGY-2 resident works with patients on two different units: one unlocked 18-bed unit, and a locked 16-bed unit. This allows for exposure to older adults with a variety of psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders, frequently in the setting of significant medical co-morbidity.

One month of forensic inpatient psychiatry at Solomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Center in Boston, MA. During this month, the PGY-2 resident works directly with a forensic psychiatrist, treating patients with psychiatric illness in the setting of a locked, forensic unit.

Outpatient experience:

PGY-2 residents are expected to fulfill 10 "outpatient hours" per month, with psychotherapy and psychopharmacology patients. Each PGY-2 resident has two supervisors: one in-house supervisor and one "out-of-house" supervisor, with whom they meet weekly. 

Didactics:

PGY-2 residents attend weekly psychiatry didactics on Wednesday afternoons throughout the year. PGY-2 residents will lead case presentations about their outpatients. 

Call:

Overnight call averages to about three calls per month. The average call per year is about 34 calls. 

The PGY-3 year is dedicated to outpatient care, consisting of several six-to-eight week rotation blocks:

Adult clinics:

Mood Disorders Clinic with Dr. Nassir Ghaemi at Tufts Medical Center.

Mood and anxiety disorders clinic at Tufts Medical Center with Dr. David Adler.

General intake clinic at Tufts Medical Center with Dr. Djorje Koldzic.

South Boston Court Clinic with Dr. Stephen Porter. This clinic is located at a district court in South Boston, where residents take part in the psychiatric court clinic, gaining experience in forensic psychiatry. Residents gain experience in working with judges, attorneys, police officers, and parole officers. Residents evaluate offenders, testify in court, and write evaluations for the court. 

South Boston Behavioral Health Center with Dr. George Sigel. This is a Tufts Medical Center satellite clinic located in South Boston, serving adults, children, and adolescents. Residents see intakes, follow-up patients, and walk-ins in this community clinic. Here, residents gain experience working in a team setting by working with social workers and psychiatric nurse practitioners. 

Michael J. Gill Mental Health Clinic with Dr. Sally Reyering. This is a community clinic located at Shattuck Hospital, affiliated with Bay Cove Human Services, serving adults with chronic mental illness. Here, residents see intakes, follow-ups, and visit patients both in the clinic and in group home settings, with the clinic attendings. 

Eating Disorders Patient Hospital Program with Dr. James Greenblatt. This program is part of the Walden Behavioral Care organization, which offers treatment for eating disorders to patients of all ages and sexes at 13 clinical locations. Our residents participate in treatment of adults with eating disorders through initial evaluations, pharmacotherapy, and multidisciplinary group treatments.

Child/Adolescent Clinics:

ADHD clinic, with Dr. Judith Robinson and Dr. Hope Schreiber.

Child and adolescent family therapy clinic with Dr. John Sargent and Dr. Elina Cymerman.

Child anxiety disorders clinic with Dr. Neha Sharma.

Child trauma clinic with Dr. Sigalit Hoffman.

Didactics:

PGY-3 residents attend full-day didactics each Wednesday.

Call:

Overnight call during the PGY-3 year averages to about one to two calls per month, and does not include holidays.

Rotations:

The PGY-4 year is dedicated to providing opportunities for residents to explore their particular areas of interest, and to prepare for the transition to independent practice. In addition to outpatient continuity clinic and 2 months of emergency psychiatry, this year consists of a flexible schedule to allow for elective rotations and research. Each resident will fulfill a specific chief responsibility during this year - a valuable experience in leadership and administrative skills. 

Didactics:

PGY-4 residents attend full-day didactics each Wednesday.

Call:

Overnight call averages to about 1-3 calls through the year, and does not include weekends or holidays.