Psychiatry

Addiction Psychiatry Elective (PSC 609A)

Prerequisite

Basic Psychiatry Clerkship (PSC 608)

Objectives

Upon completion of the rotation the student should have

  • Greatly increased ability to assessscreen, diagnose, refer and treat substance use disorders
  • Learned about the array of available psychosocial treatments, including group therapy, behavior modification, family therapy, individual psychotherapy, and spiritual 12-step approaches
  • Become familiar with the latest pharmacotherapies for detoxification and maintenance of sobriety, as well as pharmacotherapies ineffective or dangerous to addiction prone patients
  • Explored the interactions between addiction disorders and other co-occurring medical and psychiatric conditions
  • Visited and learned about the array of available treatment settings

Students work directly with a faculty psychiatrist who is board-certified in addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine and is the Medical Director of the Jim Gilmore, Jr. Community Healing Center. The student will participate in a broad range of patient care activities, from detox through long-term recovery. Treatment sites include general hospital units for consultations, a detox facility, a residential treatment facility, a drug treatment court, a methadone clinic and and outpatient offices. The student will gain an appreciation of the pervasive impact of addictions on the individual, the family, medical care, and society at large.

Adolescent Psychiatry Elective (PSC 610)

Prerequisite

Basic Psychiatry Clerkship (PSC 608)

Objectives

Upon completion of the rotation the student should

  • Be familiar with the evaluation of adolescents and their families
  • Be familiar with common psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents
  • Be familiar with common psychotherapeutic and psychopharmaco-logical treatment approaches
  • Have experience working collaboratively with psychologists, nurses, and social worker
  • Have observed individual psychotherapy and family therapy
  • Have a clear sense of the satisfactions and challenges of the practice of psychiatry

Students participate in the inpatient and partial hospitalization adolescent programs at Borgess Medical Center. Students work one-on-one with child/adolescent psychiatrists, as well as other professionals of the treatment team. Involvement with psychological testing, group therapy, individual psychotherapy, family therapy, and activity therapy will be available.

Advanced Adult Psychiatry Elective (PSC 609B)

Prerequisite

Basic Psychiatry Clerkship (PSC 608)

Objectives

Upon completion of the rotation the student should have

  • Enhanced knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of various psychopathologies
  • Learned basic psychopharmacology
  • A clear sense of the satisfactions and challenges of the practice of psychiatry
  • Enhanced skill and confidence conducting comprehensive evaluations of new patients
  • Increased ability to devise comprehensive biopsychosocial formulations of patients
  • Experience in conducting short-term supportive and problem-focused psychotherapy

Students work one-on-one with psychiatrists in the psychiatric ward at Borgess Medical Center. Faculty provide supervision by way of direct observation, videotape review, and case conferences. Students evaluate new patients referred for psychiatric consultation and conduct supportive and problem-focused psychotherapy.

Geriatric Psychiatry Elective (PSC 609C)

Prerequisite

Basic Psychiatry Clerkship (PSC 608)

Objectives

Upon completion of the rotation the student should have

  • Learned to evaluate older adult patients who present with psychiatric symptoms
  • Learned to assess in such patients the contributions of medical illness and medications used for those illnesses
  • Become familiar with psychometric screening instruments
  • Learned to assess and utilize family and community resources
  • Learned the basic strategies for management of behavior problems
  • Developed expertise in the common neuropsychiatric disorders

Students work directly with a faculty psychiatrist in an inpatient setting. Students perform initial evaluations, manage inpatients, and see their patients in outpatient or nursing home follow-up. If desired, the student may participate in the ECT Service, many of whose patients are older adults.

Psychsomatic Medicine Elective (PSC 609D)

Prerequisite

Basic Psychiatry Clerkship (PSC 608)

Objectives

Upon completion of the rotation the student should be able to

  • Efficiently identify both the explicit reason for the consult and any secondary reasons (e.g: important psychological themes)
  • Gain experience in psychiatric consulatationfor medical/surgical inpatients
  • Assess various psychiatric presentations common in acute care hospitals, including co-morbid conditions
  • Know various aspects of drug-drug interactions, adverse effects and poly-pharmacy on acute care medical units
  • Complete an adequate cognitive assessment for delirium and dementia showing
    • an understanding of the appropriate use, for example, of such scales as the Folstein Mini-Mental State (MMSE) and Delirium Rating Scale (DRS) and
    • an ability to do a screening neurologic exam and knowing the value of EEG or CT/MRI
  • Initiate appropriate individual supportive short-term bedside therapy
    • exploring the psychologic function of an individual, how their behaviors impact their physical health and disease manifestations
    • Identifying how medical illness impacts role issues in the family, in marital discord and child rearing

Each student will be assigned a "home-hospital" for which they will be responsible for consultations; students work directly with a faculty psychiatrist. Students will be responsible for their case load. They will perform initial evaluation and communicate with the medical team and follow the patients as per the needs of the case