About the MCW-MKE Psychiatry Residency Program

The MCW-MKE residency program provides the highest quality training for future psychiatrists. Learn about the distinguishing features that set our program apart from others and see why our graduates rank higher than the national mean in positive training experience.

MKE Residency Facts

64%

RESIDENTS PURSUED FELLOWSHIPS SINCE 2016

83%

GRADUATES STAYED IN WISCONSIN SINCE 2016

Distinguishing Features

The Medical College of Wisconsin is also home to fellowships in Addiction, Child and Adolescent, Geriatric, Forensic and Consultation Liaison Psychiatry. In addition, fellowships are available to psychiatry graduates in Sleep Medicine and Palliative Care.
There is a multiplicity of training sites, including a Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Academic Hospital and community public and private hospitals and clinics which offers access to diverse patient populations and a well-rounded training experience preparing residents for any career.
Starting outpatient rotations in the second year allows residents to treat patients continuously over three years.
Mental Health Emergency Center (MHEC) is a unique, free-standing psychiatric emergency room setting where residents learn to effectively manage high acuity patients and facilitate involuntary psychiatric admissions.
Residents return to inpatient and consult rotations in the third year after having the new skill and perspective of the outpatient year. This approach helps to build on their earlier experiences.
Faculty includes psychoanalysts from the Wisconsin Psychoanalytic Society, as well as experts in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) as part of our unique psychotherapy training program.
Specialty Eating Disorders rotation during PGY 3 year at one of the nation’s best hospitals for treatment of eating disorder.
Three-month blocks in the PGY 1 year permit, at most, only three consecutive months away from psychiatry.
Experiential Group offers each class of residents a supportive forum to develop class cohesiveness and draw from mutual experiences. In second year, residents have monthly mindfulness groups, in addition to their experiential group.
Integrated Care rotations for PGY 4 residents to work in consultation clinics embedded within Primary Care and specialty clinics.
One month of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry during the PGY 1 year allows for early exposure for those interested in or eager to learn more about the field.
Numerous elective options, including further specialty care, research opportunities or ability to work in a rural setting.
Opportunity to become a part of Medical Student education through committee work and/or teaching on clinical rotations and didactics.
Support for loved ones through the Resident Spouse/Significant Other Association (RSA).
An on-call system of reasonable frequency with no in-house overnight call on psychiatry rotations.

This program has a definite strength for the diversity of clinical experiences, from learning at the County facilities to the VA and Froedtert. There are many fellowship opportunities and a very supportive environment to pursue one’s interests.

Major Teaching Affiliates

We partner with several local and state hospitals and institutions to provide a balance of residency training in both public and private sector psychiatry.

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Aurora Psychiatric Hospital

Aurora Psychiatric Hospital is a full-service psychiatric hospital, providing inpatient, outpatient, residential treatment, day treatment and school programs. PGY 1 residents rotate on the Inpatient Adult Psychiatry units as well as the Child & Adolescent Partial Hospital Program. Aurora Psychiatric Hospital includes the Dewey Center where PGY 3 residents rotate in addictions.

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Center for Psychotherapies (CfP), located at Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital - St. Joseph Campus

The Center for Psychotherapies offers a comprehensive outpatient experience for second, third and fourth year residents. The Center for Psychotherapies shares its space with the Wisconsin Psychoanalytic Institute and the Wisconsin Psychoanalytic Foundation. Residents can begin an early admission program in anticipation of psychoanalytic training. Additionally, residents can rotate in the partial hospital program at CSM Milwaukee and get more elective experience with ECT.

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Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center

This 505-bed hospital provides internal medicine, inpatient psychiatry, and addiction medicine training as well as outpatient neurology. Second year, residents work in the Geropsychiatry and Anxiety & Trauma Related Disorders Clinics. There are many elective opportunities here as well, including the Immediate Mental Health Access Clinic (IMHAC).

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Froedtert Hospital

Froedtert Hospital (FH) is the major teaching hospital of the Medical College of Wisconsin. PGY 1 residents complete their Neurology and Emergency Medicine rotations at FH. Incoming residents also spend one to two months on the Emergency Psychiatry team at FH. FH also provides the clinical base for the consultation-liaison rotation on the medical and surgical services in PGY 3 year. Residents rotate through the Froedtert system for multiple outpatient electives (perinatal psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, transplant psychiatry, integrated care, etc.).

Since February 2023, Froedtert Hospital has also been home to the Complexity Intervention Unit (CIU). This 16-bed unit is designed for patients with both medical and psychiatric acuity requiring inpatient level of care. Our PGY 1 residents have the opportunity to rotate here as one of their required months of internal medicine. With more psychiatric knowledge and teaching skills later in training, our residents return to serve as the psychiatric leader of the team during their PGY 3 year.

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Mental Health Emergency Center (MHEC)

MHEC offers 24/7/365 crisis mental health assessment, stabilization, treatment, and transition care management for children, adolescents, and adults. Here, PGY 3 residents work with emergency psychiatrists to provide care for both voluntary and involuntary patients. The goal for all patients is to receive timely treatment and transfer to the next appropriate level of care. MHEC has six inpatient beds for adults for short-term stays if clinically indicated.

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Rogers Behavioral Health

Rogers Behavioral Health offers nationally recognized, specialized programs known for their effectiveness in treating children, teens and adults with OCD and anxiety disorders, eating disorders, depression and other mood disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as addiction. PGY 3 residents rotate on the inpatient eating disorders unit at Rogers.

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Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers

Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers is a FQHC dedicated to improving “the health and well-being of Milwaukee and surrounding communities, by providing quality, patient-centered, family-based health care, health education and social services, free from linguistic, cultural and economic barriers.”

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