Stewart A. Shevitz, MD, MSHA

Professor and Interim Chair
Director of Psychiatric Education & Residency Training

 

Our Mission:

We are a team of professionals committed to discovering and providing innovative solutions to mental health problems by: educating health professionals, providing compassionate service, advancing science and inspiring a love of learning.

Welcome from the Program Director!

As we enter the 2011-2012 academic year, the enthusiasm and excitement that we have here at Georgia Health Sciences University regarding our Department and our residency program continues to grow.

The Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Health Sciences University is one of the oldest medical schools in the country, with a tradition of excellence in education that dates back to 1828. Our first chairman was Dr. Hervey Cleckley, is perhaps best known for his work with another Augusta psychiatrist, Doctor Corbett Thigpen, when they wrote about their experiences in “The Three Faces of Eve”. Over the ensuing 72 years since Dr. Cleckley first assumed the chairmanship, our Department has expanded dramatically, developing nationally and internationally recognized excellence in teaching and research. Our residency training program is staffed by 44 faculty dedicated to the fulfillment of our educational mission.

Under the leadership of our prior Chairman, Dr. Peter F. Buckley, who in February of this year was named Dean of the Medical College of Georgia, we have made great strides in the recruitment of new faculty dedicated to our educational mission, in the acquisition of new resources and infrastructure to support the efforts of the Department, and in our Department’s impact on our institution, our state, and our profession on a national level. Our institution is enthusiastic about the Department and the increasingly vital role that it plays at GHSU. Our success has been recognized by the hospital and medical school leadership as demonstrated by our newly renovated Departmental facilities in the historic Stoney Building at GHSU.

Just in the past year, the Department has grown in a number of tangible ways: 

1.	The Department celebrates the second year of its partnership with the local state hospital, and has recruited several new faculty to build the educational mission at that facility. Resident rotations have been re-established on their Dedicated Educational Unit effective July 1, 2010.
2.	Three new faculty will have been added to the GHSU Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior in addition to the above effective summer, 2011. These positions include expansion in child psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, and psychology.
3.	The local VA medical center, which funds 7 of our 24 residency positions, continues to expand its psychiatric services and reach for our veteran population.
4.	The residency has now increased in size to an entering class of 6 PGY-1 residents.
5.	The residency has received a full five year continued accreditation (the maximum given) from the Psychiatry RRC. This runs from 2009-2014.

Why do applicants choose GHSU/MCG over other programs?

 Because of the Residency

•	Size of residency program
•	Strong CBT and Psychotherapy Training
•	Close proximity of training sites
•	Team approach of residency
•	Strong social network of residents
•	Enhanced emphasis on scholarship, faculty metorship of trainees and evidence-based learning
•	Competitive salaries/benefits in a city with a markedly low cost of living
•	Moonlighting opportunitites

 Because of Augusta

•	Cost of Living (one of the lowest costs for housing of metropolitan areas in the U.S.
•	Proximity to Atlanta, Savannah, Charleston, Hilton Head, mountains, the lakes
•	Family Friendly
•	Southern lifestyle
•	Lack of urban hassles

Because of the Department 

•	A national leader in Public Psychiatry and Patient-Centered Care
•	Active and collegial interface with Psychology and Psychiatry
•	Visibility and approachability of Chairman and faculty
•	Attractive and strong advanced training programs including the Child/Adolescent Residency Program and Psychotic Disorders Fellowship
•	Departmental Values (Integrity, Respect, Pride, Collegiality)
•	Research Opportunities
•	Department is stable financially and in a growth phase

Our program is large enough to provide a diverse, multidisciplinary faculty that can truly embrace and teach a comprehensive biopsychosocial approach to psychiatry, and yet is small enough that close and rewarding learning relationships are readily established with even the most senior faculty. We provide a program that will enable our graduates to be fully capable in understanding and utilizing the fund of neuroscientific knowledge available to our field. At the same time the psychosocial aspects of care and psychotherapy skills are also emphasized.

If you are seeking a program with a dedicated faculty sincerely interested in the welfare and progress of its trainees, if you are seeking a program that combines academic excellence with a supportive and collegial environment, if you are seeking a program that is increasingly recognized for its academic accomplishments, educational interventions, and clinical service delivery, then I would urge you to come and check us out. I am confident that you will not be disappointed.


Stewart A. Shevitz, M.D., M.S.H.A.
Professor of Psychiatry and Interim Chair
Director of Psychiatric Education and Residency Training