Psychiatry Clerkship

General Information

Course Descriptions by Site

PBSCI 638 P- Basic Pyschiatry Clerkship - NW Hospital (12)
The inpatient unit where students will see patients is a geriatric psychiatric unit.  The student will spend time rounding with providers on the unit learning about inpatient care and documentation.They will have exposure to a variety of mental illnesses including cognitive, mood, anxiety, psychotic, personality and substance use disorders. Students will also spend a half day per week participating in an Intensive Outpatient Psychiatry program where patients engage in group therapy and individual therapy. In addition, students will be involved in the Inpatient Psychiatric Consultation Service where they will evaluate patients on other medical services who have psychiatric issues.  The student will spend time in the emergency setting with a social worker learning about how do complete a suicide assessment, how to determine if a patient needs admission and triaging patients for the inpatient unit.  One day a week the student will participate in psychiatric consultations in an outpatient primary care setting. The students will see patients ages 18 and above with a wide range of mental illnesses including cognitive, mood, anxiety, psychotic, personality and substance use disorders.  

PBSCI 639 P-Basic Psychiatry Clerkship – Olympia (12)
There are both adult and adolescent psychiatric inpatient units where the student will see patients.  The student would spend time rounding with providers on the unit learning about inpatient care and documentation. Exposure to variety of mental illnesses including mood, anxiety, psychotic, personality and substance abuse disorders.  There is a 50 bed chemical dependency residential program where the students would be able to participate in initial screening evaluations, admissions, attend groups and in the provision of daily care for both adolescent and adults with chemical dependency.  The student will spend time in the emergency setting with a mental health specialist learning about how to complete a suicide assessment, how to determine if a patient needs admission and triaging patients for the inpatient unit.

PBSCI 640 P-Basic Psychiatry Clerkship – Pocatello (12)
Student will spend time rounding with providers on the inpatient unit at Portneuf Medical Center learning about patient care and documentation.  Student will spend majority of time with physicians and PA-C's learning about patient flow, chart documentation, patient care, and patient billing.  Student will spend time with Behavioral Health admissions team learning about what qualifies as an admit and triaging patients for unit with LCSW.

PBSCI 655 P-Basic Psychiatry Clerkship – Cheyenne (12)
Will spend time with inpatient treatment team- 2 weeks, also work with crisis clinician to get exposure to the ER evaluations. Learn about inpatient psychiatric care during this time. Daily opportunity to work with the consultation-liaison psychiatrist and see patients on the medical and surgical floor.  Participate in ER evaluations with crisis clinicians and on call psychiatrist.  Spend time with psychiatrists doing evaluation and treatment for adult, child, geriatric, dual diagnosis and developmentally disabled patients. Exposure to variety of mental illnesses including mood , anxiety, psychosis, personality and substance abuse disorders. Spend 1 week with each of the four outpatient psychiatrists including one week for child psychiatry. This is flexible and could be tailored towards the student based on interest.  See patients in nursing homes with chronic physical disabilities- MS, Parkinson's disease, Dementia and brain injury with co-occuring mental illnesses

PBSCI 661 P-Basic Psychiatry Clerkship – Helena (12)
Students will spend 2 weeks at Shodair Children's Hospital, an independent psychiatric hospital for children and adolescents.  While the student will work predominantly with multi-disciplinary teams on the acute psychiatric unit, each student also will have the opportunity to work with the Shodair genetics department and teams on the residential treatment units.  Students will work directly with attending psychiatrists with a focus on continuity of care of the same patient from the time of admission, to acute stabilization, to discharge.  Students will have the opportunity to interact with treatment teams consisting of inpatient and outpatient members (including parents, schools, primary care providers, outpatient therapists and psychiatrists, probation, and child protective services).  Each medical student will spend 4 weeks at AWARE, Inc., an outpatient mental health agency.  Students will learn about a 'wraparound' mental health treatment approach, and how to work with a large treatment team consisting of non-professional supports, doctors, therapists and para-professional supports.  Students will work directly with psychiatric attendings with the goal of working with a limited overall number of attendings during the clerkship to promote: 1) continuity of care - following the same patients over the duration of the clerkship, 2) increased opportunities - the student will be able to demonstrate competency in core areas of psychiatric care and advance in performing interviews and dictating/documenting patient encounters, and 3) mentorship - students will be encouraged to ask hard questions about the field of psychiatry, see what psychiatric practice is like in a non-university setting, and have a meaningful and useful experience that will be helpful regardless of their future medical specialty. This outpatient clinic experience will have a greater focus on working with children and families but also will include adult psychiatry patients.  

PBSCI 662 P- Basic Psychiatry Clerkship - Missoula (12)
Students work at St. Patrick Hospital with adult and adolescent inpatients and in the emergency room for emergent-care exposure. Students have outpatient experience through the adult intensive outpatient program, Pain Treatment Center, and in faculty outpatient practices. Didactics include psychopharmacology, addiction, psychosis, mood disorders, child and geriatric psychiatry. Prerequisite: completion of the HUBIO series; third and fourth year students.

PBSCI 663 P- Basic Psychiatry Clerkship - Billings (12)
Students work at South Center Regional Mental Health Center and Behavioral Sciences Clinic with adults and adolescent inpatients, in the emergency room for emergent exposure. Outpatient experiences include consultations at the Community Mental Health Center, Indian reservations and prison. Didactics include psychopharmacology, addiction, psychosis, mood disorders,dementia and child psychiatry.
Prerequisite: completion of the HUBIO series; third and fourth year students.

PBSCI 665 P-Basic Clinical Clerkship (12)
 Inpatient clerkship in psychiatry. Students have primary responsibility under the direction of attending psychiatrists and residents for diagnosis and care of patients at University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, or Veterans Administration Hospital. In addition to working with inpatients students will have the opportunity to work in the Emergency room, crisis intervention and  consultation to patients with psychiatric dysfunction. Familiarity with psychopharmacology and short-term hospitalization emphasized. (Six weeks, full-time.)

PBSCI 666 P-WWAMI Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Clerkship, Anchorage (12)
Rotation aims to increase student's skills in basic psychiatry, social psychiatry, transcultural psychiatry, and community psychiatry. Orientation is around the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical management of White, Aleut, Indian, and Eskimo children and adults in outpatient, inpatient, and community settings. Third-, fourth-year medical students. Prerequisite: HUBIO 563. (Limit: three students.)

PBSCI 667 P-Basic Psychiatry Clerkship, Boise (12)
Basic psychiatry clerkship at Veterans Administration Medical Center in Boise, Idaho. Fulfills graduation requirement for clerkship in Psychiatry.

PBSCI 668 P-Psychiatry Clerkship, Spokane (12)
Students work on adult, geriatric, and adolescent inpatient psychiatric units of Sacred Heart Medical Center, following patients after transfer to partial hospitalization or outpatient clinic. Didactics include basic psychiatric diagnosis, treatment, and pharmacotherapy. Prerequisite: completion of HUBIO series; third and fourth-year medical students.

PBSCI 669 Basic Psychiatry Clerkship, Wyoming (12)
Students work in the Wyoming Behavioral Institute with adult, adolescent, and child inpatients. Students have some outpatient experience and emergent care assessment experience at the Wyoming Medical Center. Didactics and discussion include topics such as psychopharmacology, emergent care and assessment, diagnosis, and substance abuse issues.

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