Guest Blog: Queens County Psychiatric Society’s 2023 Resident’s Best Paper Contest

As part of PRMS’ ongoing commitment to behavioral health, we invited Doctor Vatsala Sharma, PGY-3 Psychiatry Resident at the Elmhurst Hospital Center Residency Training Program in Queens, NY, to be featured as a guest blogger this month. Dr. Sharma was the first-place winner in the Queens County Psychiatric Society’s Resident's Best Paper Contest with the paper titled Intellectual Disability with Perimenstrual Psychosis and Catatonia: Diagnostic and Management Challenges.

Dr. Seeth Vivek, past president of the Queens County Psychiatric Society (QCPS), began the QCPS Resident’s Best Paper Contest 18 years ago. Residents from the four Queens Residency Training Programs – Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, Elmhurst Hospital Center, Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, and St. John's Far Rockaway – are invited to submit an original study, a case presentation, or a review of literature to enter the competition. Every May, three papers are selected for an oral presentation and scored by a panel of judges for first, second, and third place. Monetary awards and recognition are presented at the QCPS Annual Dinner in June.

Dr. Sharma’s article titled, “Intellectual Disability with Perimenstrual Psychosis and Catamenial Catatonia: Diagnostic and Management Challenges”, won first place in the most recent QCPS annual Residents Best Paper Contest this past May. Notably, she also presented two posters at the American Psychiatric Association’s 2023 Annual Meeting, was declared Employee of the Month for August 2022, and wrote a thesis on "Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in College Students" during her residency in India. She brings extensive knowledge to her current role with her psychiatry residency and an additional four years of mental health experience in India. Dr. Sharma’s research spans psychopharmacology, clinical psychiatry, and psychiatric genetics, with publications including review papers, case reports, book chapters, and conference presentations. Her areas of interest include child and adolescent psychiatry, women's mental health, and neuromodulation. Applying for the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship this year, Dr. Sharma particularly aims to contribute to the well-being of adolescent females. With her impressive background, research achievements, and dedication, she is poised to make significant strides in psychiatry.

QCPS members at the QCPS Resident’s Best Paper Contest in May 2023.

Vatsala Sharma, M.D.

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