Fit of applicants

We strongly encourage diverse applicants to apply to our program; including those who have historically been excluded from the field of psychiatry due to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and disability status.

• Just as Mayo Clinic hires consulting staff who are active in at least two of our three shields of excellence: clinical care, education, and research, we are looking for residents who agree that clinical excellence is enhanced via engaging in scholarly activity while educating the next generation of psychiatrists.
• Competitive applicants are those who are interested in receiving advanced training in a variety of activities including clinical work, research, education, and leadership.
• The structure and content of our residency emphasizes interdisciplinary science and practice. Successful residents are individuals who are collaborative, conscientious, and self-directed.

Review process

We aim to ensure a fair review of applications. To minimize bias, applications are reviewed independently by a panel of faculty and residents. Favorable ratings are given to applicants who demonstrate the potential to one day contribute to our field.

This process involves the systematic and comprehensive review of all application materials, with attention paid to applicants’ intersectional identities and the ways in which lived experiences and systemic barriers may influence academic trajectories.

Fostering diversity in our residency and at Mayo Clinic

We strongly encourage diverse applicants to apply to our program; including those who have historically been excluded from the field of psychiatry due to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and disability status.

Our faculty includes individuals from diverse cultural and clinical training backgrounds. Our program values facilitating personally and professionally supportive and affirming relationships between residents and faculty. Many of our faculty members welcome the opportunity to provide professional mentorship to minority fellows, residents, and junior colleagues. Many of our faculty, fellows and residents are active members in professional national organizations that champion issues of diversity, inclusion, and health equity.

Diversity resources

As an institution, Mayo Clinic is committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. There is no tolerance for the harassment or discrimination of trainees, clinicians, or staff. Additional information and resources on diversity initiatives and minority community groups at Mayo Clinic are available.

Diversity training

Cultural competency is a foundational professional competency for psychiatrists and is therefore integral to all training experiences throughout residency, as reflected in formal evaluation of training milestones. In addition to didactic seminars, formal training includes residents’ completion of a course in cross-cultural communication to enhance training in implementing culturally appropriate communication strategies for assessment, intervention, consultation, and research. This course takes place in the simulation center. Residents engage with patient-actors of diverse background, are observed in real-time, and receive immediate feedback from facilitators.

Class specific seminars offer a space for thoughtful conversations about diversity related topics and issues relevant to clinical practice, research, teaching, and training. These meetings allow for supportive, non-judgmental, and inclusive conversations about challenging and thought-provoking cultural issues. These are also a space where trainees reflect upon and challenge individual and systemic biases. One of the goals of these meetings is to discuss complex clinical situations, and incorporate new learnings into our clinical work, research, and teaching.

Research

The Residency Program specifically, and the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology more broadly, are committed to diversity in research (e.g. inclusion of groups historically underrepresented in research, examination of factors impacting health equity, etc.). Please see individual bios regarding publications and research interests. Diversity on research teams is considered during reviews of protocols and grant submissions at the department level.