Podcasts Health The Training Office: A conversation about mental health by trainees, for trainees. How essential is a program director to the training experience?

How essential is a program director to the training experience?

Published: Jan. 1, 2021, 5:47 p.m.

Program directors are the proverbial "boss" of a training program. While they may not be engaged with residents and fellows on a daily basis, their input and expertise is what makes or breaks the culture of a program. So what should trainees look for in a program director when deciding to choose or rank a program? Dr.Lindsay Poplinski, a PGY2 in psychiatry at Ohio Riverside Methodist Hospital, shares her insight into the qualities that trainees look for in a program director and what future trainees can do to ensure that they choose the program that is right for them. 

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In this episode we discuss the following:  

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  • The link between the culture of wellness within a program and the precedent set by the PD.  
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  • Research-backed qualities and characteristics that trainees hold in high regard when evaluating their PD. 
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  • How and why a PD can "make or break" the psychiatric training experience. 
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  • What future trainees can do to ensure that their values are in line with the program of their choosing.
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