Instructional Format

The three methods employed to attain the educational objectives of the Clinical Clerkship in Psychiatry are:

I. Didactic Learning

II. Clinical Experience

III. Psychiatric Specialty Experience

I. Didactic Learning Experience
This is a structured format to assure that all students on the clinical clerkship cover a consistent group of core topic areas.

1.  Orientation:
The clerkship orientation occurs in the morning of the first day of the clinical clerkship. The student reports to the first clinical assignment that afternoon.
2.  Tutorial:
Each student is assigned an individual tutor who meets with the student weekly during the rotation.
3.  Psychiatric Issues/Case Conference Forum:
Weekly didactic sessions discuss current ssues that are pertinent to the practice of psychiatry. Topics include: drug and alcohol abuse, psychopharmacology, forensic psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine, eating disorders, Women’s Mental Health, AND psychiatric diagnostic case conferences.
4.  Differential Diagnosis/Treatment Issues Case Conference
Students review psychiatric cases for discussion. Conferences focus on differential diagnoses and treatment issues, as they would relate to primary care.

II. Clinical Psychiatry Experience Inpatient Experience
Students follow up to 4 patients at any one time under close supervision by a resident or attending. Students write daily progress notes and participate in the treatment course and discharge planning on his/her patients.
Students have one or more scheduled supervisory meetings with his attending(s) and/or resident(s) each week to discuss patient management and other appropriate issues.

Rotation Outpatient/Subspecialty Experiences Consultation/Liaison
During consultation/liaison psychiatry students gain in-depth clinical knowledge of three illnesses relevant to virtually any physician engaged in active patient care: (1) Depression in the medical setting, (2) Dementia, and (3) Delirium. A second goal will be to understand the basic process of acquiring information from historical sources, laboratory testing, and clinical interview to formulate an initial differential diagnosis in a consultation/liaison setting. Students also have an opportunity to observe experienced faculty in clinical interviews and case formulation within consultation/liaison psychiatry.

University Specialty Clinic
Students rotate through the University Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Clinic. During this experience, they observe and participate in the evaluation of referred children and adolescents, and their treatment with various therapeutic modalities.

Earle E. Morris Jr. Alcohol and Drug Addiction Treatment Center (Morris Village)
Morris Village is a 140 residential addiction treatment facility in SCDMH. Students at Morris Village evaluate and treat patients with a board certified psychiatrist. Students gain experience in the diagnosis and management of substance use disorders, and in the diagnosis and treatment of co-morbid psychiatric disorders

.Senior Primary Care
During the geriatric psychiatry rotation, students have the opportunity to participate in the psychiatric evaluation and treatment of patients age 65 and older in a consultation role within a primary care medical practice setting.

C.M. Tucker, Jr. Nursing Care Center
During the geriatric psychiatry rotation, students rotate at Tucker Center, a long term care facility for the SCDMH with 528 licensed beds. Students participate in geriatric psychiatry consultations

.Palmetto Health Richland Emergency Department
Through the PHR emergency room, students participate in the evaluation and treatment of psychiatric patients. A multidisciplinary team-based approach incorporating the student provides knowledge about the systems that are involved in caring for the psychiatric patients of the Columbia area and surrounding communities

.Department of Juvenile Justice
Students observe and participate in the psychiatric evaluation and treatment of juvenile offenders. This experience is a part of the Child and Adolescent psychiatry rotation.