About the Book Preface Table of Contents Sample Mistake What others are saying...

PREFACE

The psychiatry clerkship is often one of the most anxiously anticipated ones, even for students who have a number of other clerkships under their belts. A variety of factors contribute to this apprehension, including the need to learn a new psychiatric “language”, to figure out how to interact with psychiatric patients, and the fact that the student must leave the comfort zone of the medical-style interview and examination. Once the initial anxiety is overcome, most students actually find the rotation very enjoyable. The clinical experience is unlike any other, as it provides the luxury of spending more time with patients and getting to know them and their stories, as well as an opportunity to examine yourself and your reactions.

There are many books on the market focusing on the factual information you need to know for the psychiatry clerkship. While this information is certainly important for success on the clerkship, it doesn’t actually prepare you for doing the rotation. These books fail to teach you how to approach patients, maintain your safety, and build rapport with patients. They don’t prepare you for the usual daily activities of the rotation, such as rounding and writing notes. These are skills that each of us has had to develop, usually by making mistakes and having them corrected by our former residents and attendings. In writing Psychiatry Clerkship: 150 Biggest Mistakes and How to Avoid Them, we thought of all of the mistakes that we made on our psychiatry clerkships and continue to see students make in our current roles as psychiatric residents and attending. In addition to pointing out these common mistakes, we offer advice on how to avoid making them yourself. We hope that you will be able to learn from our missteps and those of your predecessors and not be doomed to repeat them. By avoiding the errors made by most students (and perhaps by your fellow students who haven’t read this book), you are certain to stand out on your rotation.

To secure the best possible evaluation on your psychiatry clerkship, we recommend that you review the first two chapters on approaching the psychiatric patient and conducting a psychiatric interview prior to beginning your rotation. As you proceed through the rotation you can review the pertinent chapters to help you preround efficiently, compose thorough write-ups and daily progress notes, deliver polished and professional oral presentations, and impress the team during rounds. Additionally, if your institution uses an oral examination along with a written examination to evaluate students (a subject that is largely neglected in the current clerkship books), there is a chapter dedicated to helping you prepare for and ace your oral examination. Finally, the reviews of psychiatric emergencies, major psychiatric illnesses and medications and other information contained in the appendices, will be invaluable resources to assist you in answering questions during rounds and preparing for your oral and written examinations.

Once you’ve mastered the concepts covered in this book, you’ll be well on your way to success on your psychiatry clerkship. We hope you find your experience on your psychiatric rotation enjoyable, and we feel confident that this book will be a useful guide for your journey.

- Kimberly D. McLaren, MD
- Christopher D. Martin, MD
- Paul R. Hebig, MD