Introduction

The Department of Psychiatry began offering a senior year discipline-based pathway in July 1997. This pathway has been designed to assist both faculty and medical students in undertaking a more careful approach in curriculum planning for those students who are considering residency training and/or a career in psychiatry.

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Sites and Personnel

Pathway Director and Site Coordinator:

Co-Director/Associate Directors, Site Coordinators and Teaching Sites:

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Goals and Objectives

The goals of the psychiatry pathway are as follows:

1. To provide a student with greater familiarity with the field of psychiatry and thereby assist the student in making an appropriate career choice;
2. to enhance the possibility of initiating or further developing mentoring relationships within the department; and
3. to encourage a thorough foundation in non-psychiatric disciplines.

Courses provided by the Department have also been designed to provide those students who are not planning to go into psychiatry with the option of obtaining some additional training in psychiatry during medical school. The objectives for individual fourth-year elective courses are provided in a separate document.

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Description of Pathway

Required Courses

Emergency Medicine Subinternship
Emergency Medicine Subinternship is required by the University as a senior year course. During this course we would expect that the student will learn the principles of rapid assessment and stabilization of critically ill and injured patients; learn the initial evaluation and management of the wide range of undifferentiated patient complaints in the Emergency Department; gain skills, specialized examination technique and real-time interpretation of diagnostic studies; participate in common and more advanced procedures.

Required Subinternship Objectives: Psychiatry Pathway students may select between a required Medicine Subinternship or Pediatric Subinternship
By the end of the rotation learners will be able to:

1. Take ownership of their patients and be the primary point person regarding their care.
2. Demonstrate the ability to care for patients with increasing independence while seeking help when appropriate
3. Handle the daily tasks of an intern including preparing for rounds, presenting on rounds, interprofessional knowledge and communication skills, and patient interactions, histories and physicals, note writing of all varieties, and sign-out in a proficient and efficient manner.
4. Apply their knowledge towards diagnosis and management of common acute complaints and chronic conditions, creating care plans and communicating with consultants as necessary.
5. Perform general procedures through demonstration of the necessary preparation and key issues required for the performance of procedures, including understanding patient-specific factors, indications, contraindications, risks, benefits, and alternatives. 
6. Demonstrate reliable mechanical skills in performing procedures in most situations and knows when to seek help for procedures or situations beyond the learner’s abilities.
7. Perform safe transitions of care, coordination of care, and discharge planning.

The Department of Psychiatry requires pathway students to select two but no more than three psychiatry courses during the senior year.  One course must be done at a home site.

Students who are considering a career in psychiatry are encouraged to get additional training in other disciplines, especially family medicine, internal medicine, neurology, obstetrics, pediatrics, and general surgery. Electives in highly subspecialized aspects of medicine and surgery are not recommended.

Psychiatry Courses

Current Primary Courses may be found in the Senior Electives Catalogue under "Psychiatry." For a current listing, please refer to the on-line catalogue at: https://webcampus.med.drexel.edu/Content/clinicaleducation/SeniorElectives/

Recommended courses are:
Medical Toxicology (Emergency Medicine) – Students will have the opportunity to learn more about the workup and treatment of overdoses, such as those seen in suicide attempts, as well as the management of acute intoxication and withdrawal of substances such as alcohol and opioids.
HIV Medicine (HIV/AIDS) – This rotation will allow students the opportunity to learn about the biopsychosocial elements that may contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS as well as the associated neuropsychiatric sequelae of the illness.
Epilepsy and EEG (Neurology) – EEGs are essential to distinguish between many psychiatric and neurologic illnesses such as PNES, epilepsy, and delirium.
Providing Healthcare for Vulnerable Populations (Transdisciplinary) – Students will have the opportunity to learn about community resources available for vulnerable populations including those with psychiatric illnesses.
Emergency Medicine (Pediatrics) – This rotation will allow students to learn to evaluate patients acutely as well as obtain collateral from caregivers. Many pediatric emergency visits are psychiatric in nature and students will also learn to screen for abuse and report if necessary. 
Child Maltreatment and Neglect (Pediatrics) – Childhood trauma is one of the major contributors to mental illness. This rotation will help students identify maltreatment in children as well as learn how to handle abuse allegations and help children who have suffered maltreatment. A must-have for those interested in child and adolescent psychiatry.

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Textbooks and Learning Resources

Students will be given a list of recommended references and related readings at the time of developing their pathway selection.
 

Evaluation

Evaluation of the Student
The student's performance in each rotation will be evaluated by supervising physicians, and residents when appropriate, using the standard Drexel University College of Medicine clinical evaluation form. Students not receiving a grade of satisfactory or higher will be counseled and provided with remediation.

Evaluation of 4th year Courses
Upon completion of each rotation, students are encouraged to complete the end-of-rotation evaluation form in DOCSS. Students have the opportunity to provide feedback on the rotation as well as on specific faculty (and residents) with whom they worked in DOCSS. All feedback is de-identified.

Evaluation of the Pathway
Students are encouraged to complete an end-of-year Pathway evaluation for the Pathway. The feedback from this evaluation will help in advising future students more effectively.

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Effective with the Class of 2023, Transition to Clinician will be a 2 week course with 2 weeks of credit.  Required number of weeks will be 34.