UW to become largest psychiatric training program in U.S.
Washington state has a shortage of psychiatrists. The University of Washington is opening up its psychiatry training program to meet the growing need.
July 1 was the first day new residents, doctors in training, started at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
Ana Ratzliff, UW residency program director, said there aren’t enough residents entering the field to fill the void left by retiring psychiatrists. The Washington State Legislature recently added money to help open up the program to more residents.
“Washington state has some counties that doesn’t have a single psychiatrist in them,” Ratzliff said.
Through tele-psychiatry, behavioral health care managers and primary care providers in rural areas can access UW psychiatrists for their expertise.
Gov. Jay Inslee toured one of the psychiatry units at UW Medical Center.
“You can have all the coverage in the world, but if you don’t have people to provide the service, you’re out of luck,” Inslee said.
Typically UW’s program has about 16 residents. Now the medical center will add four more residents each year, making it the largest psychiatry training program in the country.
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Ruby de Luna
Reporter
Ruby de Luna is a reporter with a focus on food and how it intersects with health, communities, and culture. She has also reported on health care, and immigrant communities.
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