Physician-Scientist Track

To ensure residents establish a solid foundation as psychiatric clinicians, PGY-1 is solely dedicated to clinical training. Although the track does not impose any research training requirements during PGY-1, residents use this time to plan their PGY-2 training experience by completing the two-step track application process including a statement of intent and formal application), select their mentorship team with guidance as needed from track leadership, and enrolling in the Ideas 2 Results, or I2R, Research Methods course.

Deliverables
PGY-1 residents planning to pursue the track submit a statement of intent and interests to the track coordinator no later than December 15, describing their research interests and related long-term career goals. Residents whose prior research training may exempt them from the I2R coursework may request to take the I2R exemption test by January 15. Residents must submit their choice of primary research mentor, together with a preference list of weekly half-days for PGY-2 research training by February 1. A mentor agreement form, completed and signed by the primary mentor, must be submitted by June 30.

PGY-2 residents complete a 12-month elective — two half-days per week, or approximately 20% effort or 8 hours per week — collaborating with their chosen mentor(s). The objectives of the preliminary elective are for residents to gain experience in the mentor’s lab and develop their resident research project proposal with their mentor’s guidance and assistance.

Didactics
Residents participating in the track are required to complete the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative Course, or CITI, in the Protection of Human Research Subjects if participating in clinical research, or American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Training, or AALAS, if participating in animal research, or both. Residents are also required to complete the I2R Research Methods course, a commitment of two hours every other week meeting biweekly on Thursdays from August through May, unless they have passed the I2R Exemption Test. The course provides training in research design and ethics. Residents planning to take the I2R Data Computing & Biostatistics course are required to first complete this prerequisite course.

Feedback & Evaluation
Residents and their mentors will meet quarterly with members of the track’s executive council. These discussions review progress towards the track’s expected PGY-2 deliverables, identify logistical obstacles and assist with solutions, offer scientific guidance regarding the development of their research project proposal, and on-going review and guidance regarding evolving career plans. The program director will address any deficiencies in your clinical training during these meetings. If residents decide to opt out of the track at the conclusion of PGY-2, they will not be required to continue these meetings during the following years.

Deliverables

• CITI and/or AALAS certificates of completion
• Successful completion of the I2R Research Methods course unless exempted
• Resident research project proposal
  • If residents are in good standing in clinical training at the conclusion of PGY-2, they are eligible to submit, together with their chosen mentor, their resident research project proposal. This proposal serves as an application to continue into the PGY-3 and PGY-4 research project phase of the track. The training and scientific merit of the proposal is subject to approval by the track executive council.
  • Because the track executive council meets with residents and their mentors quarterly to provide feedback and guidance on the development of their project proposal, it is extremely unlikely that submitted proposals will be deemed unacceptable.

Following the PGY-2 preliminary phase, residents select one of two research project tracks for PGY-3 and PGY-4. In track one, residents devote 50% effort to research each year, engaged in research training for 14 contiguous months spanning the latter portion of PGY-3, November 1-June 30, and early portion of PGY-4. In track two, residents devote 30% effort each year, engaged in research training for eight contiguous months, with the PGY-3 block running February 1 – June 30. During these research-dedicated blocks, the only clinical training requirements are a weekly continuity clinic and general residency didactics. Mentors assist their residents in refining their research question leading to an Institutional Review Board and/or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee submission to seek approval of the protocol and consent form for their research project. Some PGY-3 research time will be used for research didactics and collecting data as part of ongoing studies, curating and analyzing collected data, and preparing manuscripts for submission.

Didactics
Track participants are required to participate in the following didactic offerings.

• Ideas 2 Results, or I2R, Data Computing and Biostatistics course
  • Meets two hours biweekly on Thursdays, August-May
  • Residents attend the I2R courses provided by Dell Med which offer training in research design, ethics and data analysis using STATA.
  • If a resident’s previous research training has sufficiently covered this material, they may exempt the I2R course with approval by track leadership.
• Coffee Talk series
  • Beginning with their research training block, November for track one or February for track two, residents attend the Coffee Talk series, which builds community, fosters collaboration and covers career development topics through work-in-progress presentations by PGY-3 and PGY-4 trainees. At least 80% attendance is required.
• NIH K Award 101 Workshop
  • Track one residents attend this workshop, which spans four sessions across the track one research block, two sessions in PGY-3 and two in PGY-4. The workshop is geared toward preparing an NIH Career Development Award, or K Award, application. Participation is optional for track two residents.
• Responsible Conduct of Research, or RCR, Workshop
  • Residents complete the 8-hour RCR workshop, course RR0100, offered each spring by UT Austin.

Feedback & Evaluation

• Independent development plan
  • Each resident submits a development plan to their mentor and track leadership during August of PGY-3. Track leadership then meets with each resident and mentor dyad to review the plan and establish expectations for the year, with a mid-year follow-up to review progress.
• Quarterly meetings with track leadership.
  • Residents and their mentors continue to meet quarterly with members of the track executive council. These discussions will review progress towards the track’s expected PGY-3 deliverables, identify logistical obstacles and assist with solutions, and ongoing guidance regarding evolving career plans. The program director will address any deficiencies in clinical training during these meetings.

Deliverables

• Independent development plan
• One IRB or IACUC approved protocol for the resident’s research project
• Successful completion of the I2R Data Computing and Biostatistics course, unless exempted
• Documentation of completion of the RCR Workshop
• One manuscript, review or original research, submitted for publication
• One abstract accepted to present data, poster or oral presentation, at a national scientific meeting. Reimbursement for travel costs to meeting provided by the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
• Attending the Coffee Talk series with at least 80% attendance met. Attendance is reviewed at quarterly meetings.
• Attending NIH K Award 101 Workshop sessions. Optional for track two residents.

The block design that begins during the latter months of PGY-3 continues seamlessly into the early months of PGY-4. Track one residents continue to devote 50% effort to research training, with their block extending from July 1 through January 31. Track two residents continue to devote 30% effort, with their block extending from July 1 through October 31. During these blocks, the only clinical training requirement is one-half day per week for general residency didactics. Research time is structured and monitored as in the PGY-3 year, but residents will become increasingly independent as they complete the objectives of their research project. Residents should be aware that the time devoted to the track leaves little or no time available for clinical electives, particularly for track one residents.

Didactics

• Ideas 2 Results Clinical Trials course
  • Meets Thursdays for 1.25 hours, August-April. Optional, but highly encouraged for residents engaging in clinical trials.
• Ideas 2 Results Observational Studies course
  • Meets weekly August-May. Optional, but highly encouraged for residents engaging in observational research.
• IRB/IACUC committee meeting
  • Residents are required to attend one meeting of either the IRB or IACUC depending upon whether the resident is primarily engaged in human subjects or animal research.

Feedback & Evaluation

• Independent development plan
  • Each resident submits an updated plan to their mentor and track leadership during August of PGY-4, followed by a meeting to discuss the updated plan, training goals and research progress.
• Quarterly meetings with track leadership
  • Residents and their mentors continue to meet quarterly with members of the track’s executive council. These discussions review progress towards the track’s expected PGY-4 deliverables, identify logistical obstacles and assist with solutions, and on-going guidance regarding your evolving career plans. The program director will address any clinical training deficiencies during these meetings.
• Coffee Talk series

  
  

  • During their research training block — July through January for track one and July through October for track two — residents continue to attend the Coffee Talk series.
• NIH K Award 101 Workshop
  • Track one residents continue this workshop geared to preparing an NIH Career Development Award, or K Award, application. Track two residents may attend and audit. The workshop concludes with a mock study section.

Deliverables

• Documentation of attendance at one IRB or one IACUC meeting
• One data-based manuscript submitted for publication with the resident as first-author
• One abstract accepted to present data, poster or lecture, at a national scientific meeting. Reimbursement for travel costs to meeting provided by the Department of Psychiatry.
• Attend the Coffee Talk series with at least 80% attendance required and presenting data at least once
• Participate in the NIH K Award 101 Workshop. This is required for track one residents and optional for track two residents.

If residents choose to complete a clinical fellowship — addiction, forensic, geriatric, child and adolescent psychiatry — within the department, they may spread the final year of their resident research project across their PGY-4 and PGY-5 years. Residents may select this option at the conclusion of PGY-3 if they have:

1. A formal agreement before the end of the PGY-3 year to complete a Dell Med clinical fellowship
2. Approval by the fellowship program director to complete physician-scientist track requirements during the clinical fellowship
3. Agreement by the track executive council, the resident’s research mentor and clinical fellowship program director that the resident research project is germane to the clinical fellowship.

If the resident remains in the track during their clinical fellowship, they and their mentor will continue to meet quarterly with the track’s executive council to monitor progress. The balance of research training, including didactics, between the PGY-4 and PGY-5 years will be determined in consultation with the executive council and the clinical fellowship program director on a case-by-case basis.