Affective Disorders provides trainees and qualified health professionals with the training required to learn about assessment, diagnosis and long-term treatment planning, the components of effective clinical management. The package enables users to identify common presentations of affective disorders, undertake accurate assessment procedures, and understand the range of physical and psychiatric disorders that may underly the conditions. The package utilises a problem-based approach to teach the physical, psychological and behavioural treatments available. The training program comprises of an introductory knowledge building section and three practical exercises that provide the user with an opportunity to put their clinical assessment skills to the test. Building Knowledge Designed to strengthen the user s background knowledge, this section contains a wealth of information from the causes and diagnosis to the latest treatments available and their side effects.
Users can navigate through the program at their own pace and select the topic they wish to study.
Once mastered, the user can either revisit topics they are unsure about or progress further to the practical exercises. The program presents three case studies for clinical assessment by the user. Focusing separately on depression, acute mania and overdose assessment, each contains video clips of the consultation process, detailed patient records and the results of medical tests undertaken-which remain hidden until requested by the user. In each, the user is guided through the clinical management process from the initial referral and presentation of the complaint, to the assessment, final diagnosis and clinical management. Patient records and medical tests can be requested, to assist the assessment process, and the results are shown on screen.