Psychiatry Residency Program

Training competent Army psychiatrists to adapt, thrive, and lead in an environment of inclusivity by instilling curiosity, compassion, and caring for patients, each other, and ourselves.

Tripler Army Medical Center

Established in 1907, Tripler Army Medical Center is the only federal tertiary care hospital in the Pacific Basin. The hospital got its characteristic coral pink color when the architects wanted to avoid an institutional look opting for a resort like appearance. Located at the top of Moanalua Ridge, just northwest of downtown Honolulu, it supports 264,000 local active duty and retired military personnel, their families, and veteran beneficiaries. In addition, the hospital draws military personnel spread in more than 40 countries throughout the Pacific territory, their family members and residents of nine U.S. affiliated jurisdictions in American Samoa, Guam, and the former Trust Territories, effectively providing care to half of the globe.

Army Psychiatry

Psychiatrists in the Army work with Service members, Veterans, and their family members suffering from a myriad of mental health disorders. From a purely professional point of view, Army psychiatrists have opportunities to treat many more clinically interesting, highly challenging conditions than many of their peers in the private sector are ever likely to encounter.

Army psychiatry is a multifaceted profession requiring one to act as a physician, officer, and teacher. As a physician, you are expected to be an expert practitioner giving the highest quality, evidence based care. As an officer, you are a leader to your colleagues and a liaison between your patients and their command. As a teacher, you will frequently have the opportunity to educate rotating medical students, residents and staff.

Tripler Psychiatry Residency

PGY-1 Year:

Intern year prepares new residents to transition from reporting and interpreting to managing patient care. Interns will rotate through the following departments:

-Active duty inpatient psychiatry x2
-Veterans Affairs inpatient psychiatry
-Consult-Liaison service x2
-Addiction medicine
-Internal medicine wards x2
-Family medicine wards
-Family medicine clinic
-Emergency medicine
-Neurology

Interns take short-call a few times per month during their psychiatry rotations and spend one month on night float working alongside on-call residents. Formal learning opportunities include weekly afternoon didactics, one on one meetings with an assigned faculty supervisor, and weekly meetings as a class with the program director.

PGY-2 Year

In the second year, residents continue to build on the infrastructure developed during intern year and transition into leadership and teaching roles in the various services. Second year residents have a 4 week research rotation and are encouraged to explore aspects of psychiatry they want to focus on. Rotations include:

-Active duty inpatient psychiatry x3
-Veterans Affairs inpatient psychiatry x2
-Consult-Liaison service x2
-Child and Adolescent outpatient psychiatry x2
-Geriatric psychiatry
-Neuropsychiatry at Castle Medical Center
-Community psychiatry

Second years also begin overnight call where they are responsible for consults and ward issues that occur after office hours. 

PGY-3 Year

Residents spend the entire academic year in an outpatient clinic. They work with patients with diverse pathologies and backgrounds, including service members of all five branches, retirees, and their family members. They are given autonomy in both medication management and psychotherapy, with weekly supervision. In addition, residents lead interpersonal groups, a unique opportunity that is not available at most residency programs. They participate in didactics on advanced psychopharmacology as well as numerous psychotherapy modalities such as CBT, psychodynamics, and marital therapy. PGY-3 year at Tripler is a time for tremendous personal and professional growth.

PGY-4 Year

During their fourth year, residents serve in a variety of supervisory positions throughout the course of their year. Their focus is on learning to manage individual services at the administrative level, and preparing for their upcoming roles as military officers and physician-leaders. They will also have the opportunity to participate in a formal forensic psychiatry case (706 board). A variety of electives are available both in the community and in the department which allow residents to explore areas of their choice within the field. They will complete a capstone Grand Rounds presentation on a topic of their choosing.

-Active duty inpatient psychiatry x2
-Consult-Liaison service x2
-Outpatient psychiatry at Tripler x2
-Operational psychiatry at Schofield Barracks x3
-Electives

Fellowships

Psychiatrists may choose to sub-specialize in a variety of areas. The Army offers a variety of post-residency fellowship opportunities in psychiatry including: addiction, child and adolescent, forensic, geriatric, preventative, and psychosomatic. At Tripler Army Medical Center, a two year child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship is offered. Residents may choose to matriculate into the fellowship after their PGY-3 year in a 3+2 model or after their PGY-4 year.

Medical Student Clerkship Program

Sub-interns are expected to take responsibility for patients including conducting interviews, documentation of encounters, and participating in at least two short calls and one weekend call shift. Additionally, sub-interns have the opportunity to give a morning report PowerPoint presentation on a topic that interests them. Interviews will be conducted during the rotation. Further information on the expectations to be given prior to arrival. To arrange a rotation, please go to the following link and review the requirements:
Tripler Educational Rotations