Residency
Psychiatry
The Psychiatry Residency at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is a four-year, ACGME-accredited program that generally admits five to six residents per year.
On This Page
An exciting and rewarding experience awaits trainees at Penn State College of Medicine in a friendly professional work environment that facilitates the attainment of a greater understanding of both the mind and the body, while supporting the balance between work and family.
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is recognized as one of the nation’s premier academic health centers, recruiting faculty members who are internationally known for their accomplishments in research, education and patient care. The current psychiatry faculty numbers more than 65, with planned increases.
Program Overview
The department has a growing research portfolio, including sleep, autism, mood disorders, ADHD, addiction, suicide and schizophrenia.
There are currently more than 20 psychiatry residents, fellows and interns, and approximately 160 Penn State College of Medicine medical students rotate through the psychiatric service every year. Mentorship, research opportunities and a wide range of elective experiences are available to the residents through the well-balanced clinical exposure and weekly didactics, where equal emphasis is placed on psychopharmacology and psychodynamic therapy. All residents are involved in scholarly activity and safety/quality improvement projects during the course of their training, and many have publications by the time of graduation.
Alumni Testimonials
The Penn State psychiatry residency program was an excellent place to complete training. I felt that the faculty was endlessly supportive and approachable, providing excellent clinical teaching and mentorship. The program exceeds expectations when it comes to didactic education; and dedicates an entire day per week toward learning which helped me feel prepared for board exams and clinical practice. The program leadership was responsive and cares about resident well-being. I will remember my time fondly, and feel that it prepared me well for the future.
Connie Koons, MD
Class of 2023
Penn State was an exceptional training program and has prepared me well for my career as a psychiatrist. The atmosphere was incredibly supportive, from working with co-residents to faculty with a plethora of mentorship available. Residents are fortunate to learn from faculty who are not only experts in their field but also exceptional teachers. I take pride in having graduated from a program that is well-rounded, fosters curiosity, and trains future leaders in the field. I am forever grateful for the training I received at Penn State!
Melissa Free, MD
Class of 2024
Psychiatry is an evolving specialty, and is delicately balanced at the crux of new and exciting discoveries in the neurosciences, and age old but vitally important humanism. What I found most interesting about Penn State… was the ability and freedom to seek your own balance between the two… The size of the program is smaller, and it encourages personal connections as well as retains a focus on the individual resident as opposed to a faceless group. The right work-life balance, lower cost of living, sense of safety in the physical environment and support from staff are added advantages.
Aum Pathare, MD
Class of 2024
My experience at Penn State Psychiatry Residency Program was tremendous. I found the curriculum well-structured, challenging but rewarding. I was able to pursue my interest in biological psychiatry with many research projects while ensuring that I garnered extensive clinical skills and experience from a diverse patient population. The culture between the residents, attendings and the other specialists was always professional and education-oriented. The program prepared me for a demanding career, and its alumni network introduced me to many mentors who inspired my efforts and helped me greatly.
Tuna Hasoglu, MD
Class of 2022
The residency program here has trained me very well. I feel confident what I have learned at Penn State will translate in my ability to be an effective attending after I graduate. Aside from the good biological teaching here, we have been really blessed to have a wonderful psychotherapy-focused program director.
Binh Dinh, MD
Class of 2011
Learn More about the Residency
General Application Information
Applications are accepted for approximately five to six PGY-1 positions every year.
Due to the large number of applications received, the program is unable to inform individual applicants about the status of their application.
Applications will be accepted via ERAS only and are considered complete when the all of the following have been received:
Three letters of recommendation
Medical school transcript
Dean's letter from the applicant's medical school
USMLE or COMLEX scores
Curriculum vitae
Personal Statement
While there is no minimum USMLE or COMLEX score, applicants scoring below 235 on Step 2 of the USMLE, or below 500 on the COMLEX, or those having more than two attempts to pass the examinations and obtain these scores, are unlikely to be selected for interview.
There is no cut-off date for years since graduation from medical school. Each application is considered on an individual basis.
Evidence of clear interest in the specialty of psychiatry is expected, preferably via demonstrated experience in the field.
International medical school graduates must have ECFMG certification prior to the start of residency (July 1). Only J-1 visas are sponsored; there are no observerships or externships.
Interview Process
Requests for visits from candidates who have not been invited for an interview are not accommodated.
Interview season is open from October through January. Interviews are typically offered to 84 applicants each year.
There is no deadline for accepting applications during recruitment season; however, applicants are encouraged to submit as soon as possible. Once interview slots are filled, the program is unlikely to review additional applications.
Contact and Leadership
Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Education, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Program Coordinator, Psychiatry Residency, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Mailing Address
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Penn State College of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, H073
500 University Dr., P.O. Box 850
Hershey, PA 17033-0850
General Contact Information
Phone: 717-531-4344
Fax: 717-531-6491
Email: psychiatry_residency@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Supporting Your Training
The excellent training program provided all aspects of clinical and research efforts to ensure trainees acquired the knowledge and skills necessary to practice in an ever-evolving field. ... In addition, Hershey’s small town atmosphere is ideal for raising a family. We enjoy the tremendous cultural diversity the area has to offer."
Raman Baweja, MD, MS
Class of 2014 and current psychiatry faculty
Community Psychiatry Track
Community psychiatry focuses on caring for people with serious and complex mental health needs in organizations whose funding derives from public sources (such as Medicare, Medicaid and local funding). Community psychiatrists focus on treating vulnerable and underserved individuals using a holistic approach by attending to social and environmental needs, providing person-centered care, facilitating recovery and working within interdisciplinary teams. Recognizing that successful treatment of serious mental illness entails more than prescription of medications, community psychiatrists address other contributors to mental illness, including social determinants of health, systems of care, cultural factors and social injustice. Community psychiatrists go on to practice in a variety of settings: community mental health centers, collaborative care in primary care practices, interdisciplinary care teams (such as Assertive Community Treatment or outreach for homeless individuals), corrections systems, rural or underserved areas.
Structure of Community Psychiatry Track
The Community Psychiatry Residency Track at Penn State will provide residents with enhanced and specific training in community psychiatry throughout all four years of the residency program. This track will help residents develop skills in collaboration, advocacy, prevention, cultural competency, leadership and systems change. The track builds on the foundations of the General Psychiatry Clinical Rotations outlined under Clinical Rotations above, with the addition of immersive clinical experience providing care to underserved populations in public mental health settings in Cumberland and Dauphin counties. In addition, residents will receive focused didactic instruction in the field of community psychiatry.
Elements of this track are outlined below:
Longitudinal immersive experience in providing community mental health care a half-day per week in the PGY-3 year and one day per week in the PGY-4 year. Potential sites may include ACT (Assertive Community Treatment) Team, LTSR (Long-Term Structured Residential) Setting, LGBTQ+ Clinic, DBT Program, Collaborative Care, Dual Diagnosis, First-Episode Psychosis Clinic
Community-based learning experiences to sites such as Crisis Intervention, Case Management Unit, social rehab club, jail/diversion program, state hospital
Providing psychiatric care to homeless individuals through Lion Care free clinic at the Bethesda Mission
Guided readings and small group seminars on topics relevant to Community Psychiatry such as the history of public psychiatry, structure of social and public mental health programs in the U.S., integrated care, program evaluation, recovery-oriented care, social determinants of mental health, trauma-informed care, culturally competent care
Seminar on advocacy and public policy for psychiatrists
Participation in design and implementation of a Quality Improvement Project
Opportunity to participate in the Penn State Health Systems Science Academy (HSSA) and work on a mentored project in PGY-4 year
To Apply
Applications will be accepted for one PGY-1 position in the Community Psychiatry Resident Track per year through ERAS only Please refer to details of application and interview process in the To Apply tab under “Learn More About the Residency.”
The Community Psychiatry Resident Track number in NRMP is 1617400C1. Please note you can apply to the Community Psychiatry track in addition to the General Psychiatry track.
Community Psychiatry Track Director
The program boasts fantastic teachers who have an impressive knowledge base and are very approachable. Having access to excellent clinical mentors is what initially drew me to the program. Overall, Penn State’s residency program provides excellent clinical resources to train tomorrow’s psychiatrists."
Sean Nutting, MD
Class of 2022
Resident Honors and Recognitions
Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center accept ongoing nominations for the Exceptional Moments in Teaching award.
The award, given monthly by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, accepts nominations from College of Medicine students who are invited to submit narratives about faculty members, residents, fellows, nurses or any other educators who challenge them and provide an exceptional learning experience. See more about the award here.
Previous nominees from the Psychiatry Residency are listed here.
The annual Resident/Fellow Research Day is held each year (with exception of during the COVID-19 pandemic) on and around the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus.
The intent of the event is to provide an opportunity for residents and fellows to showcase their research accomplishments to their peers in other clinical departments, as well as their colleagues in the basic sciences.
Learn more about Resident/Fellow Research Day here.
Previous presentations from the Psychiatry Residency are listed here.
A selection of recent peer-reviewed publications with Psychiatry Residency trainees as authors appears here.
The Robert Y. Tan Memorial Award is given annually to recognize outstanding residents in the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center who are entering their second, third, fourth or fifth year of residency. The award fund was established in memory of Robert Y. Tan by Drs. Anthony and Joyce Kales, the Tan family, the Department of Psychiatry and friends.
Robert Y. Tan was born in Jakarta, Indonesia, and graduated from Hershey High School. He was a graduate of Penn State and attended the University of Pennsylvania pre-med post-baccalaureate program. He was a former district manager for Pepsi-Cola Co. in the Philadelphia area and owned and operated Pearl Management Co., a real estate company. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, Upsilon Chapter; a committee member and volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters in the Philadelphia area; a member of the HAT Society of Philadelphia, which raises money for the Four Diamonds Fund; and a volunteer in the pediatric ward at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia.
Previous recipients of the Tan Award are listed here.
