 |
 |
|
| Welcome from the Department Head |
Congratulations on choosing a wonderful career! You are entering psychiatry in a very exciting and dynamic time. We are on the verge of attaining diagnostic and treatment capabilities that would have awed Sigmund Freud a century ago. Through advances in neuroscience, we can now visualize the structure and function of the brain as never before. New imaging technology may help us more clearly differentiate one psychiatric disease from another. At the same time, molecular biology promises a more fundamental understanding of these disorders and the therapies that combat them. It is likely that during the course of your residency, the genes responsible for some psychiatric conditions, such as bipolar disorder, will be identified, and along with them, how genes interact with early and later environment to determine behavior patterns. Clinical research has also never been more robust. Each year, new psychopharmacologic agents are being discovered that make inroads into previously refractory diseases. Investigators also are demonstrating the efficacy of more and more forms of psychotherapy. At a time when the public wants physicians to be sensitive human beings and not just technicians, psychiatry emphasizes doctor-patient communication. And not only do we talk to patients with psychiatric diseases, psychiatrists also help other physicians and health professionals understand patients' communications, attend to their emotional and psychological needs, and manage their care more effectively. Treating psychiatric disorders and caring for the emotional needs of patients with medical diseases, trauma, and related crises improves health and reduces the costs of health care. The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona's College of Medicine has a long tradition of teaching excellence. The residency is a jewel in our crown, and our entire faculty is deeply committed to making it a fruitful and rewarding experience for you. We continuously improve and update our curriculum. In addition, faculty members are available and approachable as supervisors and on a personal level. Adult psychiatry residents and child psychiatry fellows work hand in hand with psychology interns. In most of your rotations, you will also work with and teach UA medical students. Recently, our County's voters approved $66 million in bonds to build new psychiatric facilities on the growing campus of the University Physicians Hospitals at Kino, now administered by our group practice. For Psychiatry, this will allow us to enhance our missions of serving the community, teaching the next generation of healers, and expanding knowledge through scientific research. Department faculty is actively involved in publishing, editing, policy making, and teaching at local and national levels. You will see your teachers' names in journals, books, and announcements for meetings. The Department also has an exciting and diverse research portfolio. Members of our faculty have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, The Journal of the AMA, and other highly prestigious science, medicine, and psychiatry periodicals. Current areas of research include brain imaging, clinical psychopharmacology, and psychotherapy, among many others. At a time when "the biopsychosocial approach" has become a cliché, members of our faculty are comfortable and conversant with the broad domains of psychiatry. We see no conflict in viewing a patient simultaneously in terms of intrapsychic dynamics, interpersonal and social stressors, and neurobiological vulnerability. We often treat patients with concomitant psychotherapy and medications in a scientifically grounded and clinically sensible manner. I am proud of the faculty, residents and staff who make up the University of Arizona 's Department of Psychiatry. The atmosphere is warm and friendly and, despite the universal challenges that surround U.S. health care today, we are optimistic about the future of our specialty and academic medicine, as well as our role in them.
|
|
 |
 |
