Clinical activity in medical psychology includes evaluation and treatment of medical patients and consultation with physicians, nurses, and allied health care personnel within the hospital. A variety of assessment and treatment approaches are used by inpatient medical psychology, but behavioral interventions are most often employed because of the unique problems that present in the medical setting. Psychological assessments of all kinds are also very useful within the medical setting, and assessment plays a vital role in the work of the psychologist and the interns on this service. After the initial evaluation and treatment, the medical psychologist may provide outpatient services on a long-term basis, including individual, behavioral, or family therapy as needed. Other outpatient medical psychology services, which consist of outpatient psychiatric services to patients with medical complications, fall under the auspices of the outpatient services team.
Interns devote three to four hours per week for the entire year to outpatient medical psychology.
Other opportunities to work with particular illnesses or clinics are available in medical psychology and are arranged on an individual basis, often in conjunction with research interests and opportunities. Examples of such opportunities include work with the HIV team, the Renal Transplant Team, or the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.