The strong commitment to strike a balance between training activities and home life has been clearly described by Dr. Cassandra Goins-Simms and is something that is encouraged by her residency training program. It is important for residents to try to achieve a healthy and balanced life, as it is then easier for them to encourage the parents they see to do the same when it comes to caring for their children.
Dr. Goins-Simms goes on to give a snapshot of the rewards and challenges of working with young children and their families. The experience in the preschool is focused on developing skills in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of young children, an age group frequently underutilized in the training of child and adolescent residents. Other skills developed in the preschool setting, like interviewing and interacting with parents, is an essential skill for working with all children and adolescents. The experience of working with diverse families in the preschool has helped Dr. Goins-Simms and her colleagues learn about the social-cultural aspects of assessment and treatment. She also mentioned the opportunity to learn about behavior therapy, individual and group work with parents, as well as parent—child therapies. Normal developmental processes of young children are also addressed by selected reading and through visits to child care centers with typically developing children.
Dr. Goins-Simms discussed the positive aspects of protected didactic time and the linkage of the didactic material with the clinical rotation when possible, such as the psychopharmacology lectures with the medication management clinic. She described the multidisciplinary aspect of her clinical experiences as well as her developing role as a consultant to others working with children and families in school, social agencies, and other settings.
Finally, Dr. Goins-Simms discusses the essential role of administrative work (paperwork, record keeping and managing the clinic) in contributing to quality patient care. In doing these administrative tasks, the resident is exposed to and potentially learns about all aspects of organizing and managing a clinical service.
Hopefully, the four other days of Dr. Goins-Simms’ week provide similar valuable training experiences for the psychiatrist in the making.
Drs. Goins-Simms and Wright are affiliated with the Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC.