Blog: Social media and mental health
May 26 2022
Four brand new doctors will join the inaugural class of the IU School of Medicine Psychiatry Residency program in Merrillville, which works in partnership with Regional Care Group members.
Of nearly 700 applicants, four were chosen to begin the program, accredited September 2020, on July 1. The program will provide residents with training to better care for underserved populations and people with mental illness in northwest Indiana — nationally designated as a high-needs geographic Health Professional Shortage Area for mental health.
This residency program is the first in Northern Indiana for psychiatry and will run through Regional Care Group, Indiana’s largest and most comprehensive network of community-based healthcare and social services.
“It’s super exciting for everybody,” Brittany Miller, residency education coordinator at the IU School of Medicine and Director of Psychiatric Education at Regional Health Systems, said. “A lot of the local hospitals and health organizations are on board — they’re excited to possibly interact with the residents and even come in and teach a couple of didactic courses. It’s super exciting and everybody has been super supportive.”
Due to the pandemic, the recruitment process looked different than normal, but Miller said the applicant amount was large from the beginning, hitting 500 within the first day.
Residents will complete rotations in all areas of psychiatry, including inpatient psychiatry, addictions, child and adolescent mental health care, primary care and more. This gives the next generation of psychiatrists an opportunity to develop integrated models of care while increasing access to psychiatric services within underserved communities.
Regional Health Systems is a member of the Regional Care Group.
