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Roscoe Brady, MD, PhD |
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My name is Roscoe Brady, and I am a fourth year resident. My arrival at this point has been a steady progression northward from my birth in Washington, D.C., to college at Johns Hopkins University and several years at Columbia University for M.D. and Ph.D. degrees before arriving at the MGH-McLean program for my internship and residency. My career plans have deviated surprisingly little from the first days I began reading about medical scientist training programs in college. The day I was asked to write this essay represents a perfect example of how I spend my time this year. My wife and I are expecting our first child in November and we began our day at our obstetrician's office getting some beautiful ultrasound pictures for ourselves and future grandparents. From there I traveled to my office at McLean hospital before heading off to supervision. In that session we discussed one of my long term psychotherapy patients as we enter our third year of work together. Following that supervision I was off to meet with Dost Ongur, the clinical director of the psychotic disorders division at McLean Hospital to discuss our research collaboration with Professor Randy Buckner at Mass General Hospital. I spent my afternoon wearing a number of different hats. I serve as chief resident of the psychotic disorders unit at McLean Hospital. This position continues what is now a four year progression of originally working on this unit as a medical student and then as a junior resident. The attendings on that unit have been a source of continuous education and working with what is a particularly afflicted patient population was been a source of great gratification. I also hold the position of new director of the neuroscience curriculum for the psychiatry residency. Working in Boston, we are blessed with what is likely the highest density of neuroscientists per square mile in the world. This, combined with the fact that our residency spans two research intensive campuses, has provided us with an embarrassment of riches in the form of faculty who are devoted clinicians, educators and neuroscientists. The challenge of the curriculum is that our residency is filled with incredibly talented physicians with widely varying backgrounds in neuroscience. Our imperative is therefore to bring developments in the neuroscience of psychiatric disorders to the classroom in a way that informs clinical practice and is relevant to residents who plan a research focused career as well as those who will devote themselves exclusively to clinical care. The flexibility of the fourth year curriculum has allowed me to construct a schedule that balances my family life with teaching, learning, seeing patients and research. Today was a good day. |
