Al Santos, M.D.
Director, Residency Program

We appreciate your interest in our program. The psychiatry department's highest priority is to maintain excellence in education. Our commitment to providing state-of-the-art residency training has led to national awards from the American Psychiatric Association and the American College of Psychiatrists.  Our residents are truly outstanding and their development is a source of great pleasure to us. We think that psychiatry is the most challenging and enjoyable of all medical specialties and we would hope to convey that to you during your residency.

Your clinical training will be broad-based, well supervised, and closely linked to lectures and conferences. We put a great deal of energy into providing the highest quality educational experiences to prepare you for the modern-day practice of Psychiatry. Since future psychiatrists are unlikely to practice in isolation from other medical specialists, we will also ensure that the development of your professional identity as a psychiatrist is firmly rooted in medicine. You will be provided with ample instruction and clinical experience to acquire the knowledge base and skills necessary for the successful practice of Psychiatry. Residents are given a good deal of responsibility, as appropriate to their level of training, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and collegiality. The program promotes and fosters intellectual curiosity, a desire for lifelong learning, and the capacity for continued assimilation of scientific developments into your practice.

Applicants are often advised to seek a balanced/eclectic residency because the field is perceived as consisting of competing theoretical orientations (e.g., biological v. psychological). This can be misleading since, as you will learn, patients do not benefit from such conceptual boundaries. Clearly our field's developmental trajectory overwhelmingly supports ongoing scientific efforts to integrate effective interventions and services, whether biological or interpersonal, and our program reflects these perspectives. We anticipated the changes brought about by health care reform and our residents are exposed to more accessible, efficient and effective clinical service systems. Our faculty is very interested in your training and can help you develop individual areas of expertise. Some are active in research, and may invite you to participate in their projects and/or co-author papers with them. You will also be provided many opportunities for developing your teaching and administrative/leadership skills.

We are committed to and have in place an assertive and multifaceted continuous quality improvement system. In addition to the work of the Administrative Chief Residents, each of the PGY 1-4 class groups elects two representatives to advocate for the consensus opinion of their group as debate occurs in curriculum development work group meetings. The system has been well-tested and refined over the past 15-20 years. It is frequently used to make curricular changes in response to resident feedback and/or developments in the field. It ensures resident input into all major program decisions (including the recruitment and selection of new residents), and can quickly respond to resident concern. The use of this highly responsive representative management system has led to high levels of trainee satisfaction and morale.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet you and show you our training venues. Charleston is a delightful city, offering a relaxed pace of living with a wide array of recreational and cultural activities. We will strive to make your visit a pleasant one.

Dr. Al Santos

Jeffrey S. Cluver, M.D..
Associate Director for Training at the VA
Director of Residency Recruitment

We are happy that you are interested in our residency training program.  The Department of Psychiatry here at the Medical University of South Carolina is widely known for its excellence in clinical care, research, and teaching, and our residency training program is recognized as one of the best in the nation.  Our residents play an integral role in the residency program and the department is dedicated to maintaining a high level of resident satisfaction.  If you train here you can expect to be a part of a tradition of excellence that extends back to the early days of our department.  Residents are taught by dedicated faculty and have opportunities to work along side internationally renowned researchers.

Not only is MUSC an outstanding training facility, it also happens to be located in one of the most beautiful, exciting, and livable cities in the U.S.  Charleston is a city filled with history, art, architecture, gardens, and of course miles of beautiful beaches.  It is a true national treasure and every year more and more people discover our city and decide to make it their home.  In this setting, MUSC is the oldest medical school in the south, and it is located in the main corridor of downtown Charleston, just a short distance from the original (17th century) walled city of Charles Towne.

There are many reasons why MUSC and Charleston may be of interest to you as you contemplate the next stage of your medical career.  We invite you to come and visit and experience for yourself the unique character of Charleston, MUSC, and our psychiatry residency training program.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or Sherrie Osbourne, our Residency Recruitment Coordinator at (843) 792-0193 or osbourns@musc.edu.
 
With best regards,

Jeff Cluver, M.D.

I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your interest in our training program.  Our program has many great things to offer, and we are glad you have taken the time to examine it in more detail.   This is certainly an exciting time as you explore various programs for your training in psychiatry.   We hope you will find this website informative and encourage you to give us serious consideration during the application process. 

While I would echo many of the same sentiments as Drs. Cluver and Santos, I would like to provide some additional insight from my perspective.   Our program provides for a scholarly yet collegial and fun work environment.  Residents play an integral role in the day to day operation of both the hospital and the residency, and they are a voice on most hospital and departmental committees.  Although we have one of the larger programs in the country, it generally has the feel of a smaller, close knit group.   Our residents are hard working, intelligent, and personable.  Approximately 10-15% of them are members of AOA and most have extensive volunteer experience and extracurricular activities.  This bright group also plays a significant role in the selection of the new interns each year. Additionally, as you can see for yourself on the website, our residents come to Charleston from all over the United States. 

Through our Grand Rounds series, exposure to diverse psychiatric populations, and comprehensive didactics in all four years, trainees leave the program well prepared to practice in multiple venues.  Our graduates can be found in fellowships, private practices, governmental facilities, and academic institutions all over the country.  Many doors are opened by training at MUSC.  

Having most clinical sites within walking distance and the fact that the program is situated along the coast in historic Charleston are additional bonuses.  We hope that you will take the opportunity to personally get to know us better and find out what a unique and special place MUSC is.   Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions at  pelicc@musc.edu or 792-5913.