Education

Postgraduate Training in Geriatric Psychiatry

Residents entering postgraduate training in psychiatry and anticipating a career in adult or child psychiatry will have an opportunity to learn about psychogeriatric assessment and care. Residents will complete a six-block rotation in geriatric psychiatry during their PGY3 year, focusing on mental disorders affecting older adults, including mood disorders, delirium, and dementia.  Entrustable Professional Activities have been developed and reflect the CanM EDs Guidelines. Training will also include clinical exposure to psychosis, complex co-morbidity, anxiety, and substance abuse. Residents will be expected to assess and follow patients in various treatment settings and are provided supervision with short and long-term patients.

Clinical Opportunities

  • Inpatient Care
  • Outpatient Care | Outreach
  • Community Service Programs
  • Consult Liaison Assessments
  • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) & Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMs) Clinic
  • Day Hospital
  • Opportunity to collaborate with Geriatric Medicine, Palliative Care, Complex Care

Residents will explore the richness that Geriatric Psychiatry brings to the care of the elderly. You will have an opportunity to work with multi-disciplinary teams and learn from skilled health care colleagues such as pharmacists, occupational therapists, registered nurses, clinical nurse specialists, social workers, psychologists, and psychometrists.

Formal teaching includes involvement in modules on geriatric issues. Residents can present at the Department of Psychiatry’s Continuing Professional Development Grand Rounds.

Trainees will have a chance to be involved with teaching and research opportunities. During an enriched experience, residents will be able to work in various clinical care settings. The Division of Geriatric Psychiatry can also provide robust clinical experiences for residents seeking a Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty training. 

  • For more information on the Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty Residency Program, click HERE

Research Opportunities

The Division of Geriatric Psychiatry encourages residents to pursue research projects under the supervision of the Division faculty members. Our Research Interest Group provides support for residents to present ideas, receive feedback, and develop projects. The Division Journal Club is another avenue where research papers are discussed and critiqued.
Western has a rich and diverse group of research partners and programs:

Funding for resident-run projects is available through the departmental seed fund. Competitions take place twice a year, and resident projects take priority for funding. In previous years, residents have also received internal grants from the Department of Psychiatry for projects pursued within our Division's clinical settings.

Additional Training Opportunities

The Division of Geriatric Psychiatry also participates in Family Medicine teaching at the PGY1 and PGY2 level through the Psychiatry lecture series. Opportunities for the supervision of geriatric medicine fellows and family medicine residents are also available.

Undergraduate Medical Education

The Division of Geriatric Psychiatry contributes to teaching medical students in the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, The University of Western Ontario, through the first and second-year psychiatry lecture series and a clinical methods course in conjunction with the undergraduate education committee.

Geriatric Psychiatry will be providing a two-week selective experience during the psychiatry clerkship rotation. Students will come away with a unique and holistic approach to the care of the elderly and also have an opportunity to work within a multi-disciplinary team. Skills gained through this two-week rotation will develop their ability to assess and diagnose depression, dementia, and delirium. The students completing a two-week rotation will have enhanced skills as they enter the last year of medical school and proceed to their residency training.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The Division of Geriatric Psychiatry is involved with CPD initiatives through CPD in the Department of Psychiatry, provincial initiatives, the Alzheimer Society, and local community partners.

The Division looks forward to celebrating its Annual Geriatric Psychiatry Symposium. Each year the Symposium welcomes over 120 participants to the all-day Continuing Professional Development accredited event, which features keynote speakers and twelve concurrent workshops on various topics of interest to clinicians, support workers, researchers, and trainees working with older adults. Due to the popularity of the Symposium, we have created a virtual education event called Geriatric Mental Health Education Series. There are over 150 participants joining via Zoom.

The Division also has members who participate in the following activities and organizations:

Our continued focus builds our reputation provincially and nationally for excellence in research, education, and clinical care. Please review the Events link for presentations of interest to those involved in eldercare.