Residents have the opportunity to assist in the teaching of medical students during this rotation. Residents spend the majority of their clinical time learning consultation principles, approaches to patients, interview techniques, diagnostic evaluation, psychiatric symptoms associated with medical and surgical conditions, psychopharmacology in medically ill patients, and crisis intervention. The patients often pose challenging diagnostic questions and come from a variety of cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. Supervision is provided by several faculty psychiatrists. Clinical experience is augmented by an active didactic program.
Educational opportunities exist for working with medical students.
This rotation is currently a mix of inpatient and consultation experience. In addition, training in ECT also occurs during this assigned time. As is usual, educational opportunities exist for working with medical students. An entire training year is spent on the Adult Outpatient Clinic rotation. The education in psychotherapy is augmented by the use of a one-way mirror demonstration of a selected case, in which the patient is treated weekly by an experienced faculty psychiatrist, with a second faculty member on the other side of the mirror explaining the process to the observing residents.