The goal of The University of Texas psychiatric pharmacy residency is to prepare individuals to become skilled clinicians in psychiatric pharmacotherapy and leaders in psychiatric pharmacy practice. Individuals successfully completing this program will be prepared for a variety of exciting and challenging career opportunities in psychiatric pharmacy.

The UT Psychiatric Pharmacy Program has active collaborations with multiple health care entities for developing psychiatric pharmacy practice skills, including: Austin State Hospital, Seton Shoal Creek Hospital and Clinic, Texas Department of State Health Services, Central Texas VA Medical Center, Seton Blackstock Clinic, Austin State School, and the Texas Neurorehabilitation Center.

Required core training areas include acute care adult psychiatry, ambulatory care psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, clinical psychopharmacology consult service, and clinical management in psychiatric pharmacy. Electives experiences can be accomplished in a variety of practice areas, including: substance abuse detoxification, substance abuse active treatment, behavioral neurology, developmental disabilities, specialty populations, mental health system administration, mental health outcomes research, epilepsy clinic, and primary care clinic.

Austin State Hospital is a 315 bed public sector acute and intermediate care psychiatric hospital serving the mental health needs for over 3 and a half million Texas citizens. The resident gains experience in a variety of clinical environments, including: acute care adult psychiatry, extended care psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, clinical psychopharmacology consult service, geriatric psychiatry, extended care services, mental retardation services, and clinical management. For more information on Austin State Hospital, click on: http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/mhhospitals/AustinSH/default.shtm

Seton Shoal Creek Hospital is a 115 bed private, nonprofit psychiatric hospital that operates as a component of the Seton Health Network. In conjunction with the Austin Medical Education Program, Seton offers an accredited residency in psychiatry and fellowship in child psychiatry. Clinical services include adult acute care psychiatry, substance abuse detoxification, child and adolescent psychiatry, substance abuse active treatment, outpatient psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry day program, and clinical management. Also available through the Seton Health Network is a primary care experience through the Seton Blackstock Clinic. The Blackstock Clinic is operated by the Family Medicine Residency Program, and a pharmacist primary care clinic operates within Blackstock. An elective experience in epilepsy is available through the Seton Epilepsy Program. For more information on Shoal Creek Hospital, click on: http://www.seton.net/locations/shoal_creek/

Mental health outcomes research and public mental health administration experiences are offered through the Office of the Medical Director for Behavioral Health Services of the Texas Department of State Health Services. A rotation providing services to individuals with developmental disorders is available through the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. The Texas Neurorehabilitation Center offers rotational experiences in behavioral neurology and adolescent psychiatry.

In our clinical sites, residents serve as valuable members of comprehensive treatment teams. An active clinical psychopharmacology consultation service provides services throughout the hospital and allows the resident to provide comprehensive evaluation and consultative services. In the psychiatry clinic at Shoal Creek, residents are actively involved in collaborative drug therapy management responsibilities. Residents also participate in medication education groups, pharmacy and therapeutics committees, medication use evaluation committees, and other clinical management activities.

The UT Psychiatric Pharmacy Program is affiliated with the psychiatry residency program at Austin Medical Residency Training Program, Seton Healthcare Network. Residents participate and teach in a comprehensive 55 hour clinical psychopharmacology and therapeutics course with the psychiatry residents. Clinical psychopharmacology journal club is held weekly, as is Pharmacotherapy Conference. Residents have selected teaching responsibilities in courses at The University of Texas College of Pharmacy. Participation in ongoing research activities is expected of all residents.

The UT psychiatric pharmacy program has a prolific mental health outcomes research program with active collaborations among multiple researchers from three University of Texas campuses, Texas Tech University Health Science Center, other universities nationwide, and a variety of health care organizations. Residents have the option of concurrent enrollment in the M.S. or Ph.D. program in Pharmacy Practice and Administration with an emphasis in Mental Health Outcomes . The psychiatric program currently has six, board certified pharmacist preceptors, and numerous other faculty and clinicians are available for mentoring. For more information, contact Tawny Smith, Pharm.D., BCPP at tbsmith@seton.org or by phone at 512-232-1936.