Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Training in Psychiatry Residency: National Program Director Perspectives in Canada.
Infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) is increasingly recognized as relevant to psychiatric practice; however, its integration into psychiatry training in Canada remains unclear. This study examined how IECMH education is currently delivered within Canadian general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) residency programs.
Program directors (PDs) and associate PDs from all Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada-accredited General Psychiatry residency programs and CAP subspecialty programs were invited to complete an anonymous survey between August and December 2023. Survey items explored IECMH teaching practices, curricular structure, clinical exposure, perceived resident competence, and barriers and facilitators to implementing formal IECMH curricula.
Nine PDs participated (four general psychiatry; five CAP). No general psychiatry programs reported mandatory IECMH rotations, and most reported no dedicated IECMH teaching. CAP programs reported greater clinical exposure, with most requiring an IECMH-focused rotation; however, formal didactic teaching remained limited across programs. No programs reported the use of e-learning modules. General psychiatry PDs commonly rated their programs as educating residents in IECMH "not very well," whereas CAP PDs generally selected "moderately well," citing limited faculty expertise as a primary barrier. Conversely, all respondents endorsed IECMH training as "important" or "very important" and expressed strong interest in scalable, self-directed educational approaches.
IECMH education within Canadian psychiatry residency training is variable and inconsistently structured, despite widespread recognition of its relevance. These findings highlight opportunities to develop feasible, competency-aligned IECMH curricula to strengthen psychiatry training and support developmentally informed clinical practice.
Program directors (PDs) and associate PDs from all Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada-accredited General Psychiatry residency programs and CAP subspecialty programs were invited to complete an anonymous survey between August and December 2023. Survey items explored IECMH teaching practices, curricular structure, clinical exposure, perceived resident competence, and barriers and facilitators to implementing formal IECMH curricula.
Nine PDs participated (four general psychiatry; five CAP). No general psychiatry programs reported mandatory IECMH rotations, and most reported no dedicated IECMH teaching. CAP programs reported greater clinical exposure, with most requiring an IECMH-focused rotation; however, formal didactic teaching remained limited across programs. No programs reported the use of e-learning modules. General psychiatry PDs commonly rated their programs as educating residents in IECMH "not very well," whereas CAP PDs generally selected "moderately well," citing limited faculty expertise as a primary barrier. Conversely, all respondents endorsed IECMH training as "important" or "very important" and expressed strong interest in scalable, self-directed educational approaches.
IECMH education within Canadian psychiatry residency training is variable and inconsistently structured, despite widespread recognition of its relevance. These findings highlight opportunities to develop feasible, competency-aligned IECMH curricula to strengthen psychiatry training and support developmentally informed clinical practice.
Authors
Sheridan Sheridan, Zarb Zarb, Citron Citron, Postl Postl, Hammond Hammond, Matheson Matheson
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