Rural Track
Background:
As a land-grant institution, it’s our responsibility to find ways to better the lives of West Virginians and their access to care. The WVU Psychiatry Residency has developed a Rural Training Track (RTP) to help meet patient needs. The goals of our RTP is to improve access while training residents dedicated to patient care, research, and outreach in a rural community-focused environment. This rural track will provide our medical residents with a unique training perspective, and they will gain a better understanding of the challenges our patients face when seeking care in rural settings.
The RTP received accreditation from the ACGME for the 2024 MATCH. WVU is currently only 1 of 5 ACGME RTPs in psychiatry nationally. We were very happy to accept our first 2 residents in this program this past July.
Scope:
Participants in this track will receive additional training in rural areas while also training part time at our academic medical center in Morgantown. Trainees will spend at least 50% in direct care in rural settings. Residents will gain experience in telehealth and other innovative care delivery models. The WVU Healthy Minds Clinic in Clarksburg serves as the primary outpatient location for the RTP. Residents will also gain experience with our community partners at the Louis A. Johnson VA Hospital in Clarksburg and the William R. Sharpe Hospital in Weston.
Curriculum Overview:
The RTP will share didactics and other educational experiences with the core program in Morgantown. RTP residents will also receive rural-specific content from both our rural/community faculty and core program faculty. The close proximity (45 miles) of the RTP to the academic medical center affords flexibility in rotations and other elements of the Clinical Learning Environment.
A general overview of the curriculum and rotations includes:
PGY1
Inpatient, consultation, and off-service primary care/neurology/emergency experiences primarily take place at the academic medical center in Morgantown. Some additional off-service rotations (IM, ED) take place at the Clarksburg VA. PGY1 residents have ½ day outpatient clinic in the rural area (this can be done virtually or on location).
PGY2
Inpatient and consultation experiences take place at the academic medical center with additional rotation experiences at the VA and state hospital. PGY2 residents have ½ day outpatient clinic in the rural area (this can be done virtually or on location).
PGY3
The PGY3 year is focused on gaining longitudinal outpatient experience with the majority of the experience at Healthy Minds Clarksburg. Therapy supervision, educational content, and specialty experiences will be done in coordination with the core program.
PGY4
Much of the PGY4 year is focused on gaining rural elective experience in addition to some senior-level/leadership experiences with the core program.
Greater than 50% of the total training will take place in the rural location. (Rotations and curriculum are general descriptions and subject to change).
Residents will be prepared to be future leaders in psychiatry and will be experts in serving rural and underserved populations through the RTP while still receiving exemplary education at the academic medical center.
Rural Track Accreditation Press Release: