Resident and New Practitioner Committee
For the 2024 Residency Program Director Survey, 49 distinct Residency Program Directors (RPDs) responded. Of those responding, 43 programs indicated that they had residents for the 2023-2024 year, with a total of 64 residents. All responding programs who are ASHP-accredited (94%) plan to maintain accreditation, and the remaining 6% plan to become accredited.
The majority (69%) of 2023-2024 psychiatry residents were AAPP members. Most RPDs (71%) reported encouraging AAPP membership, and 14% required their residents become AAPP members.
The largest funding source reported for PGY2 psychiatry residencies were Veterans Administration (VA) health-system funds.
The vast majority of RPDs (94%) anticipate their funding source and amount to remain the same for the 2025-2026 residency year. Three RPDs (6%) anticipate less funding for the 2025-2026 residency year. If given additional funding, 18% of RPDs reported that they would increase the number of PGY2 residency positions, with 41% reporting that they would not increase the number of positions and 41% undecided.
For the 2024-2025 recruitment year, 90% of respondents filled all their PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residency positions. Of the programs with unfilled positions, one spot was converted to an alternative resident position. One program surveyed did not fill their position as the program was on hold. The average number of applications received by programs was 7, with a range of 1-20 applications.
The majority of programs reported planning to keep the same number of residents for the next year, while 4% of programs plan to expand the number of positions. Eight percent of programs indicated that they plan to decrease the number of positions, citing less demand, decreased support/funding, and reallocation of funding as contributing factors. Of the 49 programs surveyed, 57% plan to recruit for one resident in the 2025-2026 application cycle, 39% intend to recruit for 2 positions, and 4% for 3 positions.
At the time of survey completion in October 2024, two 2023-2024 residents (3%) had completed and passed the BCPP certification exam and 24 residents (44%) had scheduled their exam date. The percentage of graduates within the last five years who are now BCPP certified ranges from 0% (from 3 programs) to 100% (from eight programs). The mean is 68%, the median is 80%, and the mode is 80%. All responding RPDs are BCPP certified, with the majority becoming eligible by completing a PGY2 psychiatric residency (76%).
Consistent with previous years, over 96% of residents from reporting programs were able to obtain a post-residency position by the time of survey completion in October 2024, with over 85% securing a position prior to residency completion. The most common way residents found their post-residency position was by networking (41%), followed by USA Jobs (18%), AAPP job postings (17%), and other job listing websites (11%).
The vast majority, 95%, obtained a position with a majority psychiatric focus (77% with 100% psychiatric focus). Federal government positions (e.g., VA/IHS) remained the most popular type of institution.
Contrasting from previous years, inpatient was the most common clinical setting followed by outpatient.
The majority of residents took positions in general mental health (73%), followed by substance use focused (13%), a specific psychiatric disorder or medication-focused position (5%), child and adolescent psychiatry (3%), integrated care (2%), and neurology (2%).
For those RPDs involved in hiring applicants for clinical practice or clinical faculty positions in psychiatry, 97% indicated that a PGY2 psychiatric pharmacy residency is required to qualify as a competitive candidate, a substantial increase from 52% in 2022. Additionally, the proportion of those requiring a BCPP certification or planning to obtain a BCPP certification doubled from 46% in 2022 to 92% for 2024.
