Integrated Care: Should It Count as Community Psychiatry Training for Psychiatry Residents?

Psychiatry residents are required to be exposed to community psychiatry. Historically, this occurred in public hospitals or assertive community treatment (ACT) teams. A new model of psychiatric care delivery, integrated care, has become prevalent. While integrated care shares some features with traditional community psychiatry rotations, no research exists to demonstrate if integrated care rotations can accomplish the aims of traditional rotations. This pilot study compared learning outcomes in ACT team rotations versus integrated care rotations. Pre- and post-rotation surveys were disseminated to third-year psychiatry residents (N = 8) who were randomized to complete a rotation with an ACT team or an integrated care team. By rotation end, many in both settings changed how conservative they were in treatment philosophies, but this did not result in a difference between groups. Residents in both groups were satisfied with their rotations. Training in integrated care may be a reasonable alternative to traditional community psychiatry rotations.