A Sociological Calendar of Transitional Stages During Psychiatry Residency Training

Objective: In 1975, Donald Light, Jr., presented a “sociological calendar” as a paradigm for describing the important dimensions and stages of social and professional development in psychiatric residency training. The authors sought to develop an updated calendar and to determine if the calendar is consistent with attitudes of residents in various stages of their training. Methods: A new sociological calendar was developed after conducting a focus group with chief residents. The Osgood Semantic Differential Survey (OSD) was used to measure residents’ attitudes, and the results were compared with the modified calendar. Results: The updated calendar differs considerably from Light’s original calendar. Findings from the OSD were generally consistent with the updated calendar. Conclusions: A modern sociological calendar illustrates the relatively predictable transitions that residents go through over the course of their training. By better understanding these stages of development, supervisors and residency directors may become more effective in their teaching and support efforts.