Chief Residents' Message

Hello from the 2022-2023 chief residents!

As we reflect on our training with Northwestern Psychiatry, we feel fortunate to have trained here for many reasons, the most important of which we've shared here.

Breadth of Clinical Experiences

We've had the opportunity to manage patients struggling with a wide range of mental health conditions from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds on a variety of busy services – from the psychiatric units at Northwestern University and Veterans Affairs (the VA), to our busy consult service that provides care to patients at one of the top hospitals in the country, to a range of specialty clinics and residential programs. Having early exposure to such a variety of clinical settings has helped us better define our long-term career interests and we feel well-prepared to leave residency and begin practicing in our areas of interest.

Amazing Coresidents

The three of us are still in touch with residents from graduated classes who are now wonderful attending psychiatrists but still continue to provide us with mentorship and guidance. Our residents are collaborative, and we've enjoyed working together as a class to make improvements within the program. As an example, there used to be two chief residents, but last year, the PGY4 class split the role so that everyone could have an opportunity to gain some of the experience of being a chief while continuing their learning through patient care. We've continued this model this year, so that while the three of us have primary chief resident duties related to administration, inpatient services and outpatient services, other fourth-year residents are chiefs for education, research, wellness and recruitment. We consider our current coresidents among our best friends and learn new things from them every day. We couldn't imagine a better group of people with whom to work alongside or to explore the city.

Supportive Faculty

Our faculty are brilliant, thoughtful clinicians with a range of expertise, including neuropsychiatry, reproductive mental health, psychoanalysis and couple's therapy. The program leaders are dedicated educators who constantly strive to keep our training experience on the cutting edge. Every week, we have a chiefs meeting with department leadership, Sachin Patel, MD, PhD; Cara Angelotta, MD; and Amy Corcoran, MD, where we discuss ways to make the program stronger. We have consistently felt that the faculty here are dedicated to making us the best psychiatrists we can possibly be and are approachable and open to resident ideas and collaborating on new projects. While we've been at Northwestern, residents have spearheaded several major new initiatives, including a partnership with Howard Brown Health Center that provides services to the LGBTQ community and a new clinic providing services to transgender patients.

World-Class City

And, finally, we can't forget Chicago! We all feel lucky to be training in one of the great American cities, surrounded by incredible food, music, history and the spectacular Lake Michigan, including Oak Street Beach, which is less than a mile from the hospital.

Come join us!

— Nicole Lentini, MD; Reuben Heyman-Kantor, MD; and Carmel Nichols, MD