EIRMC adds psychiatry to graduate medical education program
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - EIRMC recently established a Psychiatry Residency program to address a shortage of mental health professionals throughout the state.
Idaho has the fewest psychiatrists per capita of any state in the nation. This severe shortage of psychiatrists- physicians who specialize in treating mental health and are licensed to prescribe medications- has significant negative impacts for patients seeking mental healthcare in the state.
EIRMC’s Psychiatry Residency program trains physicians who have graduated from an accredited medical school earning their degree as an MD or DO, and now want to specialize in psychiatry. Since all doctors complete the same training in medical school, residency is where physicians gain training in their specialty field of medicine.
Psychiatry Residency is a 4-year training program; each year, four new residents begin the program. By 2026, it will be at full strength, with 16 psychiatry residents progressing through the program.
Dr. Matthew Larsen, Director of EIRMC’s Psychiatry Residency program, believes this training will immediately and substantially address the shortage of psychiatrists in Idaho.
“According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, more than half of the doctors who completed residency training in the last fifteen years still practice in the state where they trained.”
Larsen also notes this program is a value-add both to patients and to the community.
“The privilege of training doctors is reserved for select hospitals recognized for having the capability, clinical diversity and commitment to provide high quality medical education. New doctors in training bring a unique energy and enthusiasm to the hospital. They are clinically up-to- date, well-read, technologically-savvy, and eager to interact with patients and their families.”
EIRMC’s Psychiatry residents are trained in the treatment of all mental illnesses- depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, autism, ADHD, substance use disorders, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, and more, as they care for patients at EIRMC, including at the Behavioral Health Center (BHC). At EIRMC, residents admit patients, conduct interviews, diagnose illnesses, prescribe medications, perform consults, write orders, and discharge patients, under the supervision of board-certified psychiatrists.
They will also see patients at local clinics, including Ascend Mental Health and Community Family Clinic, and others.
In 2018, EIRMC established its Graduate Medical Education Program to train physicians in Internal Medicine. Currently, there are 30 Internal Medicine residents at EIRMC, and the first class of nine graduated in 2021. In 2020, EIRMC added the Family Medicine residency program with six physicians,and are graduating their first class in June 2023. All total, there are 51 residents currently training at EIRMC.
