What You Need to Know About Sports Psychiatry: An Introductory Curriculum for Psychiatry Residents

Sports psychiatry is a growing subspecialty focusing on the psychiatric care of athletes. However, efforts to increase sports psychiatry training in residency are lacking.

A 120-minute introductory curriculum for the Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School Psychiatry Residency Program was developed and tested for feasibility. Kern's curriculum design and a literature review on sports psychiatry topics, including a review of the International Society for Sports Psychiatry curriculum for trainees, guided development. Pre- and postassessments were used to assess acceptability and impact on resident learners. Residents provided qualitative feedback on how to improve the curriculum.

Thirty-five of 56 residents received the training. Eighteen of 35 residents (51.4%) completed the surveys. Residents had minimal baseline knowledge in sports psychiatry, and this introduction enhanced their objective knowledge scores (mean 0.67 vs 0.93; mean difference = 0.26, 95% CI, 0.16-0.43; P < .001; Cohen d = 1.56), subjective confidence (mean 1.56 vs 3.22; mean difference = 1.65, 95% CI, 1.31-2.00; P < .001; Cohen d = 3.13), and subjective knowledge (mean 1.67 vs 3.40; mean difference = 1.73, 95% CI, 1.42-2.05; P < .001; Cohen d = 3.22). Residents' qualitative feedback suggested allocating more time and a broader scope for curriculum improvement.

Implementing an introductory sports psychiatry curriculum in psychiatric training is feasible and enhances residents' knowledge and confidence in sports psychiatry topics. More work is needed to explore the best ways of increasing opportunities for sports psychiatry training in graduate medical education programs.