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Dear Applicants:

Thank you for your interest in our Tower Health-Phoenixville Hospital General Psychiatry Residency program. We are very excited about training future psychiatrists in one of the largest health care systems in Pennsylvania.

To apply, please go to ERAS and search for "Tower Health-Phoenixville Hospital Psychiatry Residency Program, 2290400C0."

Learn more about the Tower Health-Phoenixville Hospital Psychiatry Residency program.

Education is our mission at Tower Health-Phoenixville Hospital General Psychiatry. We inaugurated or program in 2020, from the merger of a well-established psychiatry training institution – Drexel Psychiatry, and a diverse and thriving non-profit health system – Tower Health. Our alumni residents are a diverse, talented cohort who are passionate about psychiatry, psychotherapy and advocacy. The Drexel tradition emphasizes the importance of creating a nurturing, cohesive, friendly and collegial learning environment and an unwavering commitment to education.

Our program provides a variety of experiences to ensure that our trainees are exposed to a wealth of different types of patients and clinical approaches. We are located in one of the most diverse, vibrant and affordable urban areas in the country. Our didactic curriculum and supervisory experiences emphasize a thorough and well-rounded approach to psychiatry with a substantial devotion to psychotherapy as a critical part of the skill-set of every psychiatrist. Our faculty and department leadership create a culture of continual evaluation and improvement of our program. Our faculty are national leaders in psychiatric education and psychotherapy training. Our trainees have successfully published and presented both locally and nationally. Our program has a history of commitment to community service and cultural diversity. The Delaware Valley (formerly Philadelphia) LGBTQI Health Care Symposium, for example, is a resident-driven event. We pay close attention to residents’ wellness and resilience. For example, we have a Resident Wellness Committee, annual resident retreat, process groups, Movie Club, social gatherings/events, holiday parties, Wellness and Patient Safety/Quality Improvement Symposium. Our program director has an "open-door" policy. These are examples of how we care for you and your future as our professional colleagues.

We are delighted that you are considering training at Tower Health-Phoenixville Hospital General Psychiatry and thank you for reviewing our program website. We look forward to meeting you.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions regarding our program.
Leinaala Kline
Residency Program Manager
 610.806.2137
 leinaala.kline@towerhealth.org

News and Events

Tower Health – Phoenixville Hospital Psychiatry Residency Open House

Looking for a rewarding and enriching residency program in psychiatry? The Psychiatry Residency Program at Phoenixville Hospital provides a variety of experiences to ensure that our trainees are exposed to a wealth of different types of patients and clinical approaches.

Join us for a VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE where we’ll provide an overview of the program and a Q&A with the Program Director.

When: Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Time: 7 to 7:45 p.m. Program Director Overview/ PD and Faculty Q&A
7:45 to 8:30 p.m. Resident Q&A
Download Brochure

When: Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Time: 7 to 7:45 p.m. Program Director Overview/ PD and Faculty Q&A
7:45 to 8:30 p.m. Resident Q&A
Download Brochure

2023-2024 Resident Awards

June 2024

  • Excellence in Didactic Teaching – April Fallon, PhD
  • Excellence in Clinical Teaching – Karriem Salaam, MD; Andrew Agostini, MD; Jeffrey Bedrick, MD
  • PHX Hospital Staff of the Year – Tabitha Thompson, cafeteria
  • Friends Hospital Staff of the Year – Iesha Cook, MSW, on TE1
  • 1427 Vine St. Clinic Staff of the Year – Janelle Harvey

2023-2024 Faculty Awards

June 2024

  • Journal Club Excellence Award – Saral Desai, MD, PGY2
  • Gary Kirshbaum Award for Excellence in CL Psychiatry – Saral Desai, MD, PGY2
  • Gary Kirshbaum Award for Excellence in CL Psychiatry – Chandra Rai, MD, PGY2
  • Outstanding Achievement in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – A. Jason John, MD, PGY3
  • Excellence in Medical Student Education – Amanda Shapiro, MD, PGY3
  • Medical Student Research Mentorship Award – Saral Desai, MD, PGY2
  • Chief Resident – Maryssa Lyons, MD

See all residency news.

PHX Psychiatry Residency Newsletter

2023-2024 Resident Scholarly Activity

Behavioral Health Education Elective Rotation

Four of our PGY4s have rotated on the Behavioral Health Education Elective with Drexel University College of Medicine where they created curriculum and presented formal workshops on topics of interest.

Evgenia Royter, DO-PGY4
“Navigating Challenging Clinical Situations: Strategies for health care professionals”
3-hour live webinar, WOL808 course, Behavioral Health Education, Drexel University, October 2023

Katherine Hubert, DO-PGY4
“Stirring the Pot: A Look at the Implications of Marijuana Use”
2- hour live webinar, WOL809, Behavioral Health Education, Drexel University, February 2, 2024

Maryssa Lyons, MD-PGY4 Chief Resident
“Our Stories: Transgender Mental Health and the Benefits/Use of Narrative Therapy”
6.5 hour live workshop, WOL810, Division of Behavioral Healthcare Education, Drexel University College of Medicine, March 21, 2024

Daniel Buhalo, MD-PGY4
“Trauma: A Sociocultural Perspective”
3-hour webinar, Behavioral Health Education, Drexel University, scheduled April 25, 2024, 9am-12:15pm

Grand Rounds Presentations by Residents/Fellows

Jehoshaphat Reich, MD-FEL2
“Psychotic and Bipolar Disorders in Children”
September 6, 2023

Amanda Shapiro, MD-PGY3
“Use of CBT for Somatic Symptom Disorder”
September 20, 2023

Daniel Buhalo, MD-PGY4
“A Social Psychological Perspective on Trauma and Trauma Disorders”
February 7, 2024

Sara Mateo, MD-PGY4
“Therapeutic Alliance in Treating Patients with Depression”
March 6, 2024

Samantha Murad, DO-PGY3
“Ctrl+Your+Mind: Rethinking the Psychiatric Landscape with Technology”
March 13, 2024

Ara Dadivanyan, MD-PGY4
“Outpatient Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder”
Scheduled April 10, 2024

Journal Club Presentations (PGY2s)

Saral Desai, MD
“Psychosis with Methylphenidate or Amphetamine in Patients with ADHD”
August 23,2023

Sanketh Sukesh, MD
“Relapse Risk after Discontinuation of Risperidone in Alzheimer's Disease”
October 18, 2023

Richard Danieli, MD
“Risk of Experiencing an Overdose Event for Patients Undergoing Treatment With Medication for Opioid Use Disorder”
December 20, 2023

Anurag Avadhuta, DO
“Esketamine Nasal Spray versus Quetiapine for Treatment-Resistant Depression”
January 17, 2024

Malav Shah, MD
“Antidepressant Augmentation versus Switch in Treatment-Resistant Geriatric Depression”
February 21, 2024

Abhishek Allam, MD
“Long-term Use and Dose Escalation of Benzodiazepines and Z-drugs: Findings from a Danish Cohort Study”
March 20, 2024

Mollie Sadler, MD
“Acupuncture for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder”
April 17, 2024

Chandra Rai, MD
“Buprenorphine versus Methadone for Opioid Use Disorder in Pregnancy”
May 15, 2024

Publications and Presentations

“Matching Into Psychiatry When Expecting in Academic Psychiatry”
Aubrey Jackson, DO-PGY1, June 27, 2023.

“Mental Health Impacts of Anti-Trans Legislation”
Kristin Spiegel, MD-PGY1, Drexel University Women’s Health Education Program Blog, College of Medicine, October 5, 2023

Saral Desai, MD-PGY2 was selected by the APA to complete a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship from July 1, 2023-June 31,2025. Dr. Desai also received the AACAP Educational Outreach Program for General Psychiatry Residents award at the AACAP 2023 Conference.

Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY2 and Saral Desai, MD-PGY2 attended and monitored sessions at the AACAP 2023 Conference in New York.

Saral Desai, MD-PGY2 and Edward Lin, BS-MS4 DUCOM presented their poster, “Higher ADHD Prevalence, Worse Symptoms in Children Exposed to Second-Hand Smoke” at the AACAP Conference. The abstract was also published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and featured on Psychiatry Advisor.

Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY2 presented a poster at the NRMP Conference in Boston, Mass. in October, co-authors: Chandra Rai, MD-PGY2 and Valeria Diaz Fragachan, MD-Pediatric Emergency Fellow, St. Chris, with the assistance of Donna Sudak, MD: IMG Residency Transition Guide.

Katherine Hubert, DO- PGY4 was honored at the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Society Philadelphia Chapter 2023 Awards Gala at the Penn Museum of Archeology & Anthropology on Saturday, November 18, 2023. Dr. Hubert received the ”Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Scientific Paper or Case Formulation Award for Residents.” Dr. Hubert was joined at the Gala by several of our residents including Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY2, Daniel Buhalo, MD-PGY4, Maryssa Lyons, MD-PGY4 Chief, and Evgenia Royter, DO-PGY4. Also in attendance were faculty including Wei Du, MD-DIO, April Fallon, PhD and Zhabiz Kazeminezhad, MD.

PaPS Colloquium of Scholars, Feb. 2024
Saral Desai, MD-PGY2 presented 2 posters he co-authored with DUCOM MS4; Edward Lin and Hayden Sando entitled: “Predictors of Treatment Admissions for Hallucinogen Use in the United States” (also presented at the AAAP annual meeting in San Diego, CA) and “Prevalence and Severity of ADHD Among, Children with Second-Hand Smoke Exposure: A US Population-Based Study.” These will both be presented at Tower Health Research Day as well.
Maryssa Lyons, MD-PGY4, chief resident presented their poster titled “Review of International Public Health Eating Disorder Screening Guidelines.”
Katherine Hubert, DO-PGY4 presented her poster titled: “Xylazine: A Review of the Literature.”

Saral Desai, MD-PGY2 and Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY2 along with Wei Du, MD, Sarah Luber, DO and Olive Sarubbi co-authored the abstract “Mastering Ambiguity of Professionalism Development from Day 1: exploring the role of initial residency transition experience” - Presentation type: Roundtable – This abstract is accepted for presentation at Academy for Professionalism in Health Care hybrid conference, Navigating Ambiguities in Professionalism: Teaching, Assessment, Remediation, and Clinical Care from June 3 to 5, 2024, at Drexel University College of Medicine (Queen Lane Campus) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and via Zoom.

Evgenia Royter, DO-PG4 and Donna Sudak, MD-PD have published an article “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Approaches for Chronic Suicidality.” Journal of Psychiatric Practice, Vol. 30, No.1, 46-50.

During the 2023-2024 Tower GME Awards Ceremony TH-Phoenixville Hospital Psychiatry Residency received several awards. Donna M. Sudak, MD received the GME Mentorship Excellence Award. Abhishek Allam, MD received the GME Award of Excellence in Promoting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Saral Desai, MD received the GME Resident or Fellow Service Excellence Award.

Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY3 along with Olive Sarubbi, TH system director for GME and UME, gave an APA presentation on April 8, 2024 entitled “Post Match: The Transition to Residency for Matched IMGs.”

Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY3 gave a HEALTHYSENIORS presentation to 60 attendees at the Phoenixville Recreation Center on May 14, 2024 entitled “Aging & Mental Health: Myths, Facts, Stigmas, Wellbeing.”

The Street Medicine Program at Pottstown Hospital received an Innovation Award from Montgomery County for their excellent work integrating psychiatry in the program. Sunil Verma, MD and our PGY4 residents, including Katherine Hubert, DO and Daniel Buhalo, MD, have been working with the Street Medicine team, providing much needed care to those in the Pottstown area.

Abhishek Allam, MD-PGY2 and Saral Desai, MD-PGY2 along with Wei Du, MD-Tower Health DIO, Sarah Luber, DO-Tower Health ADIO, Olive Sarubbi-GME system director participated in a roundtable panel presentation entitled “Mastering Ambiguity of Professionalism Development from Day 1: Exploring the Roll of Initial Residency Transition Experience at the APHC International Hybrid Conference 2024 at Drexel University College of Medicine, June 2024.”

 
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Please note that residents and fellows are employed by and insured by the hospital; they are not employees of Drexel University.

Donna Sudak, MD

Donna Sudak, MD
Program Director