The Combined Accelerated Program in Psychiatry: A Progress Report
WALTER WEINTRAUB M.D.1,
GEORGE BALIS M.D.2, , and
JAMES MACKIE PH.D.3
1 Professor, Director of Graduate Training, and Director of the Combined Accelerated Program in Psychiatry (CAPP), Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 645 W. Redwood St., Baltimore, Md. 21201
2 Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Education, and Codirector of CAPP, Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 645 W. Redwood St., Baltimore, Md. 21201
3 Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry and Research Coordinator of CAPP. Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 645 W. Redwood St., Baltimore, Md. 21201
The authors report on the nature and progress of the Combined Accelerated Program in Psychiatry (CAPP), now in its fourth year of operation. The program involves three and a half years of undergraduate and two and a half of postgraduate training. Participants begin clinical training in the freshman year and supervised psychotherapy in the sophomore year. Test results comparing CAPP students with their non-CAPP fellow students and with psychiatric residents indicate that CAPP students in the middle of their junior year score higher than residents after one and a half to two years of training. The authors present and respond to criticisms of the program, observing that the true test will lie in the careers of CAPP graduates and in the program's impact on psychiatric education.
