Augusta Health, Inc Program

Program Identity & Fit

Augusta Health's Psychiatry Residency is a new, community-based program (first class July 2027) at an independent, non-profit medical center in the Shenandoah Valley, built around a four-year rotation structure that pairs core inpatient/outpatient psychiatry with community mental health exposure at Valley Community Services Board and forensic/acute care training at Western State Hospital. The curriculum is developmentally staged—PGY-3 dedicated entirely to outpatient continuity care, PGY-4 offering administrative experience and six months of electives (including ECT/interventional psychiatry, addiction medicine, and forensics)—reflecting a training model oriented toward broad, general clinical competence rather than subspecialty concentration. Research is present as a longitudinal literacy curriculum and elective option rather than a driving institutional priority; the program's identity is instead anchored in community engagement, service to an underserved rural/regional population, and integration with Augusta Health's broader mission-driven initiatives (e.g., its working farm addressing food insecurity). The program values residents who embrace community psychiatry, multidisciplinary collaboration, and well-rounded clinical practice across diverse settings rather than a narrow academic or research trajectory.