OSU’s Center for Health Sciences will soon house just the second psychiatric residency program in Tulsa and the fourth in the state.
It will train five psychiatrists a year.
OSU Psychiatry Chair Jason Beaman said a lack of interest in psychiatry from medical students isn’t the reason the program is just being offered.
"Approximately 10 percent of each class goes into psychiatry," Beaman said. "And they've gone to a lot of places in Oklahoma, but then also they've gone out of state. The residents need to be paid for, and there hasn't been funding available for that until now."
The residency program is a collaborative effort by OSU, Veterans Affairs and the state mental health department to address an ongoing shortage of mental health professionals. Beaman said 56 percent of doctors end up practicing where they did their training.
The school will set up an outpatient clinic, but that will be just part of residents’ training.
"They will be in the VA, both in Muskogee and here in Tulsa. They will be at Family and Children's Services, and they will do most of their inpatient hospital training at Tulsa Center for Behavioral Health," Beaman said.
The program should have its first intern in July, and osteopathic medicine students looking for residency programs are showing interest.
"They have 48 months to complete. Some of them have already done 24 to 30, so as soon as they complete that 48, we could see our first graduate," Beaman said.
Those involved in the new residency program hope increasing the supply of psychiatrists will help keep mental health care costs from constantly increasing.
