Psychiatry Electives
For additional experience in psychiatry, our department offers several elective courses for fourth-year medical students:
Child Psychiatry/Adolescent Psychiatry (2-4 weeks)
The course will familiarize students with common psychiatric diagnoses and therapies for children and adolescents. Students will observe and participate in the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents in inpatient and outpatient settings. They will attend staffing, family meetings and relevant conferences. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: PSCR 950
Advanced Studies in Psychiatry (2-4 weeks)
This course allows students to expand their knowledge and experiences in psychiatry with rotations of their own choosing. Experience can be modified to fit the individual's interest and needs. All students will have the core experience (attendance at Grand Rounds, Journal Club and readings assigned by clinical supervisor). Students may choose one training site for four to eight weeks, subject to availability of supervision. Scheduling should be arranged with the psychiatry clerkship director. Supervisor's evaluation comprises 100% of the grade. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: PSCR 950
Geriatric Psychiatry (2-4 weeks)
The student will experience caring for elderly and often medically ill patients with psychiatric symptoms and diagnoses on an acute geropsychiatry hospital unit, in outpatient settings. Experience will be gained in assessing and managing complex medical and psychiatric conditions in elders. Objectives include: 1) Increase awareness of the common psychiatric conditions in elders; 2) Improve ability to assess, diagnose and treat common psychiatric conditions in elders who commonly have comorbid medical conditions; 3) Understand the impact of the elder's environment on psychiatric symptoms and the necessity of managing the elder within the context of the psychosocial environment, especially the family unit; 4) Improve ability to manage complex pharmacotherapy. Teaching methodology includes bedside clinical rounds, geropsychiatry small-group discussions, lectures and assigned readings. Patient contact would include elderly patients with common psychiatric conditions - affective disorders, dementias, anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders and comorbid medical conditions, acute care hospital geropsychiatry unit, and outpatient clinic. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: PSCR 950 and INM.D. 975
Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry (2-4 weeks)
The objective of this course is to increase the student's knowledge and skills in evaluating patients with both psychiatric and medical illnesses in inpatient and outpatient settings, making recommendations, and communicating with referring physicians. These objectives will be met by direct patient contact, individual supervision, assigned readings and attendance at conferences. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: PSCR 950 and INM.D. 975
Clinical Psychopharmacology (2-4 weeks)
The purpose of this elective is to obtain intensive and in-depth experience with the medical management of a variety of psychiatric disorders. During this rotation, the student will come in contact with patients suffering from a variety of psychiatric disorders and will gain further experience with a medical-model approach to the management of these disorders. The student will learn basic pharmacokinetics principles which are broadly applicable to the pharmacologic management of patients with both psychiatric and nonpsychiatric disorders. The student will learn pharmacodynamic principles and clinical neuroscience principles which are of special relevance to clinical psychopharmacology. Effort will be made to tailor the elective to maximize the exposure to a particular area or diagnosis, based on student interest. The student may choose to be involved in ongoing clinical psychopharmacology research, including an exposure to drug development and testing. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: Pharmacology (second year) and PSCR 950
Outpatient Psychiatry (2-4 weeks)
The objective of this course is to increase the student's depth of knowledge regarding psychiatric disorders as they present in an outpatient setting. Emphasis will be on clinical skills including the psychiatric interview and diagnostic process and gaining a longitudinal perspective on psychiatric illness. In addition, the student will be introduced to psychotherapy theory and skills. Students will attend departmental academic events, teaching conferences and participate in intake evaluations performed by psychiatry residents. They will also participate in observing a selected number of ongoing cases in conjunction with residents. Students will evaluate patients for intake early in their rotation and follow these cases throughout their rotation. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: PSCR 950
Special Topics in Psychiatry (2-4 weeks)
This elective is designed to provide clinical and/or research experience in topics of special interest not otherwise represented in the curriculum (e.g. forensic psychiatry, sexual disorders). The student will design, in consultation with department faculty, specific objectives, reading assignments and the mechanism for course evaluation. Faculty will provide supervision and a written evaluation.
Prerequisite: Medical Basic Sciences and departmental consent.
Contact
Ronda Magness, medical student clerkship coordinator
rmagness@kumc.edu
316-293-3508