Program Director’s Welcome

Psychiatry Residency Spokane’s core purpose is to train residents as clinician educators with a deep commitment to the poor and vulnerable.​

Over the past ten years since our inaugural intern class began in 2015, we have built a reputation for continuous improvement and clinical excellence with an emphasis on treating the underserved, poor and vulnerable. We train residents with an eye to the future of medicine with an emphasis on leveraging expertise through consultation, a strong commitment to population based care, and a focus on our specific regional social and health related disparities; meeting them through treatment paradigms such as collaborative care, telepsychiatry and a harm reduction approach to substance use disorders.

My vision for the program includes the following core components:

• Comprehensive clinical training with emphasis on psychotherapy training and management of medically complex patients​ - you can expect a clinical experience that will challenge you while ensuring enough support that it never feels unsafe​
• Supportive environment​ - we have worked hard to cultivate and maintain an extended family culture – this will be your professional family not just for the time that you’re in Spokane, but also after you graduate! We want to foster a growth mindset where mistakes are learning opportunities​.
• Mentorship to help you get where you want to go​

We have a strong academic culture with faculty and resident involvement in preclinical teaching courses. core clerkships in psychiatry, electives and Sub-I rotations, national and regional involvement in advocacy, and scholarly work expertise in addictions and workforce development. Psychiatry Residency Spokane is affiliated with the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and with Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. PRS partners with a diverse set of established rotation sites that you can learn more about on our curriculum page.

We believe that our training program builds excellent clinicians who have a well-rounded set of skills that enables a smooth transition into independent practice or to fellowship. Our medium city size and community focused training allows for a more personal feel, balances independence and maturing skills with support, allows for a responsive feedback model and changes nimbly to respond to a rapidly emerging healthcare delivery system.

We hope you consider applying to our program,

Rick Carlson, MD

Program Director
Psychiatry Residency Spokane
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center