One of The College's most valuable contributions to psychiatric education is the annual Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination (PRITE^®). The College designed PRITE^® as an educational resource for psychiatric Residents and training programs. Each section of the exam focuses on a particular component of psychiatry, offering references to support and explain correct answers.

Nearly all psychiatry Residents in the United States take the exam three to four times during training. PRITE^® provides feedback to the individual Residents about the status of their knowledge as compared to others at the same level of training.

In addition, the exam offers Residency training directors insight into the performance of their Residents on the PRITE^® examination so that they can prepare and adjust their programs to make them more effective.

Created in 1978, the PRITE^® consists of 300 questions and is divided into two parts. The content areas covered in the PRITE^® are:

• GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
• ADULT PSYCHOPATHOLOGY
• EMERGENCY PSYCHIATRY
• BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE AND SOCIAL PSYCHIATRY
• PSYCHOSOCIAL THERAPIES
• SOMATIC TREATMENT METHODS
• PATIENT EVALUATION AND TREATMENT SELECTION
• CONSULTATION-LIAISON PSYCHIATRY
• CHILD PSYCHIATRY
• ALCOHOLISM AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE
• GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY
• FORENSIC PSYCHIATRY                    

A related specialty exam, the Child PRITE^®, is designed for child Fellows. Its 200 questions survey child and adolescent psychiatry issues in depth.