Integrated Care Education for General Psychiatry Residents in the US: a Review of the Literature

The purpose of this review was to synthesize published literature describing integrated care education available to general psychiatry residents in the United States (US) in order to better understand curricular models and summarize curriculum barriers and facilitators.

The authors searched electronic databases for articles describing integrated care education for general psychiatry residents. Minimum inclusion criteria were focus on an ambulatory integrated care curriculum, description of the study population and training program, publication in English, and program location in the US. Data extracted included trainee, faculty, or collaborator evaluations, educational model, level of care integration, and barriers or facilitators to implementation.

The literature search identified 18 articles describing curricula at 26 residency programs for inclusion. Most programs offered clinical and didactic curricula to advanced trainees across a variety of care integration levels. Common barriers included fiscal vulnerability and difficulties identifying team members or clarifying team member roles. Common facilitators included institutional and interdepartmental support, dedicated space, and faculty supervision. No statistical analysis was able to be performed due to study heterogeneity.

This review found a relatively small number of articles written about integrated care education for psychiatry residents. Resident evaluation suggests this training is valuable regardless of curriculum structure, training years, or level of care integration. Dedicated funding, staff, and space were crucial for successful curricula. This review highlights a need for more rigorous research characterizing and evaluating integrated care education.