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Message From The Chiefs

Welcome to the Griffin Memorial Hospital Psychiatry Residency Program website and thank you for taking time to explore what all we can offer.

Griffin Memorial Hospital is unique in many ways. The hospital has a long and rich history in mental health for the Great State of Oklahoma. The first structure on campus was home to High Gate, an all-women’s academy. In 1895, it was sold to the Oklahoma Sanitarium Co. and became the first mental health facility in Oklahoma. Prior to that, patients with mental health needs were sent to Illinois via train. The first description on the front gates read “Norman Institute for Violently Mentally Insane.” In 1899, sanitarium officials hired David W. Griffin, a Psychiatrist from North Carolina. When Dr. Griffin saw this sign, he chiseled off the “insane” himself. Since then, the hospital has been owned by the state. Originally named Central State Hospital, it was later changed to Griffin Memorial Hospital in 1953. Today it is the largest mental health facility in Oklahoma housing 120 beds.

In addition to the rich history, Griffin has trained multiple generations of psychiatrists. The first class graduated in 1956! Today, we offer 8 residency spots each year that are filled through the NRMP match. The GMH campus in Norman houses the residency office and is the location for our inpatient psychiatry rotations in the PGY-1 and PGY-2 years. Our program has a strong focus on psychodynamic therapy in addition to medication management. A unique feature of the program is our residents start seeing patients for therapy at the beginning of their PGY-2 year.

Another key strength of our program is in our patient population. As a state hospital, we are exposed to a vast range of pathology and the highest acuity of psychiatric diagnoses. The hospital serves a large proportion of indigent patients who generally have less access to care and present with more complex pathology and comorbidities. There is a saying amongst the Alumni that if you have trained at Griffin, you can go anywhere in the world and be comfortable managing any psychiatric patient you encounter.

Something we also wish to highlight is the early exposure to child and adolescent psychiatry. At our program, we provide after-hour admissions and call coverage at the Children's Recovery Center (CRC), starting in intern year. We also have a one-month rotation on the crisis unit at CRC both in the PGY-1 and PGY-2 years. Due to this robust exposure and training, our residents have had no trouble matching in competitive child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship programs in Oklahoma and across the United States.

The program is far from static. Opportunities are made available daily to further strengthen our knowledge while providing the best treatment options to the patient. Attendings engage us to gain confidence and allow adequate autonomy in the inpatient and outpatient settings. We are provided supervision and constructive career development while still being recognized for individual styles and interview skills.

One of the key draws to the program is the environment. As an unopposed psychiatry program, we are the only residents at the hospital. This has created a close-knit work environment and allows us to support each other on a more personal level. Many candidates are attracted to our program because of the friendships that is made clear to rotating medical students and externship observers.

Finally, we wish to highlight the location of our program. The city of Norman is one of the fastest growing cities in the Oklahoma Metro. Norman is home to the University of Oklahoma and well known for being a bustling college town with an abundance of local restaurants, sports, activities, and culture. It is a great place to live, raise a family, and enjoy the low cost of living. Norman is located just miles away from Oklahoma City, which offers a thriving downtown. There is a vast array of concerts, restaurants, social activities, and sporting events, including the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball games! With Oklahoma being centrally located, Will Rogers World Airport offers flights to most major cities around the U.S. and makes getting to and from the city a breeze.

Please take time to explore this website for details about our program and do not hesitate to contact us with any further questions.

Amanda LaCroix, D.O.

Zain Iftikhar, M.D.

Achyut Sompura, M.D.

Erin Robinson, D.O.

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