Formal Didactic Experience

The “Healthcare Disparities Seminar” 

Intended to highlight and understand disparities within our healthcare system – due to socioeconomic, racial and gender based societal differences.

Faculty Director: Mira Zein, MD

The “Psychotherapy of the Medically Ill / Death & Dying Series”

Intended to provide the skills and knowledge to provide bedside psychotherapy to the medically ill, including addressing issues such as demoralization and existential conflicts associated with death & dying.

Faculty Director: Sheila Lahijani, MD, FACLP.

The “Humanities in CLP Seminar”

Developed to explore the importance of humanities for clinical practice. Attendees will work through numerous ways of defining mental disorders and look at the limitations of these definitions.

Faculty Director: Dany Lamothe, MD

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Journal Club

On the last Friday of every month, trainees will take turns presenting a CL-related topic of interest. This trainee-led teaching is designed to help trainees critically evaluate published literature, understand evidenced-based medicine, and practice teaching relevant scientific information around a topic. Fellows have access to a list of “must read” literature as well, an evolving list of papers important to our field, and previous resident/fellow produced PowerPoints presentations. Journal presentations are led or supervised by the Fellows. This is a required didactic activity.

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Trainees Clinical Conference

On every other Friday, trainees are expected to participate in the didactic process through a lecture series covering the diverse types of medical disorders presenting with psychiatric manifestations, as well as a review of the diagnosis and management of common psychiatric conditions found in the general medical/surgical units. Alternatively, based on particular cases or clinical events, a clinical case conference is held in which medically ill patients with psychiatric disorders or who developed psychiatric/behavioral complications are discussed, followed by an in-depth review of relevant literature. This is a required didactic activity.

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellow Didactic Series

CLP-Fellows are given a list of essential CLP topics and are expected to research them and prepare a lecture series based on their studies, literature review, supervision with their mentor and PD, as well as develop evidence-based diagnostic and treatment approaches. Fellows will then teach these to trainees on the CLP Service as a way of evaluating their knowledge and consolidate their grasp in the learned material. This is a required didactic activity.
 

Chief of Service rounds

Every fourth Wednesday of the month, the CLP team comes together for a round table discussion, presided by the Chief of our service, Dr. Jose Maldonado. Attendings or Trainees bring forth a challenging case and pose questions to Dr. Maldonado with the aim of quality improvement, incident debriefing and systems-based practice. This is an opportunity to invite colleagues from other disciplines as well in order to have a well-rounded discussion. This is a required didactic activity.

Mental Health in Medicine Lecture Series & Case Conference: Conducted during the first half of the year. It consists of a lecture series covering the several types of medical disorders presenting with psychiatric manifestations, as well as a review of the diagnosis and management of common psychiatric conditions found in the general medical/surgical units. During the second half of the year, it consists of a clinical case conference in which medically ill patients with psychiatric disorders or who developed psychiatric/behavioral complications are discussed, followed by an in-depth review of relevant literature. This is a required didactic activity. The list of covered topics in the include:

• Alcohol Withdrawal
• Anxiety disorders
• Bipolar disorders
• Capacity Evaluations
• Delirium Management

• Depression/ECT
• Eating Disorders
• NMS/Serotonin Syndrome
• Psychotic Disorders
• Substance Use Disorders/Addiction Medicine
• Suicide Prevention
  
   

Interdisciplinary Clinical Psychiatry in Neurology series

A clinical case conference in which patients with neuropsychiatric disorders are discussed, followed by an in-depth review of relevant literature. This is a required didactic activity.

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry – O/P Clinic Case Review

All outpatient cases seen by CLP-Fellows during O/P Clinic are reviewed and discussed with Service Chief and/or senior clinic attending. This is a required didactic activity.

Annual Symposium (Grand Rounds)

Once a year CLP-Fellows will present a Grand Round session on his/her research or on a clinically significant issue. This is an elective didactic activity.

Bedside Psychotherapy Skills in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry

Review of the diverse types of psychotherapeutic techniques appropriate for the use in the acute setting of the hospital setting; as well as psychotherapeutic techniques useful in the treatment of chronic medical disorders. When possible and available a live interview will take place to allow trainees learn from seasoned clinicians with particular expertise in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. This is a required didactic activity.

Ethics Committee Meeting

At this meeting representative members from all major specialties discuss difficult ethical cases, develop hospital policy, and conduct actual ethical consultations. Often, discussions regarding major bioethical principles take place. This is an elective didactic activity.

Psychiatry & the Law Course (Law School)

This course is offered every year at the Stanford School of Law by joint faculty from the Schools of Medicine and Law and is an excellent opportunity to gain experience about the interfaces and clashes of mental health and the law. The course includes a review and discussion of landmark cases in psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and the Law, issues of competency assessment, decision making capacity, informed consent, right to refuse treatment, substituted decision making, end of life & right to die will be discussed in depth. This is an elective didactic activity.

Long-term Psychotherapy for the Medically Ill

CLP-Fellows are assigned a challenging or complex, long-term psychotherapy case which will be followed longitudinally for the rest of their fellowship (or until the patient needs to terminate for medical reasons, or improvement). A psychotherapy supervisor, skilled in the application of psychotherapy in the medically ill will watch via one-way mirror/video camera and provide active feedback and supervision immediately at the end of each session. This is an elective didactic activity.

Scholarly Concentration

New research projects in development and ongoing project updates are presented and discussed by research and clinical faculty, and CLP-Fellows In this forum scholarly projects (e.g., manuscripts, abstracts, poster) are discussed and presented. The program offers plenty of opportunities for scholarly activities. Participating Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellows are required to join in an existing research project, develop a new research project, design and conducting a case series, or conduct an advanced literature review on a particular topic of interest, with intent to publish the findings. Fellows interested in developing their own research project will obtain training and mentorship in identifying and developing a research idea, delineating and carrying out the steps required to implement a clinical research project (e.g., write study proposal; compose and obtain IRB approval; literature review; search for funding), and writing and submitting a manuscript for publication, or poster presentation at scientific meeting. This is an elective didactic activity.

Methodology of Research in Behavioral Sciences Seminar

Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellows have the opportunity to enroll in the Methodology of Research in Behavioral Sciences Seminar in which the instructors review and discuss essential methodological topics in clinical psychiatric research, including randomized clinical trials and effect size, statistical hypothesis testing: significance & power; discussion of reliability, validity, and sensitivity; medical test evaluation and risk factor research. Instructors: Boil Jo, PhD, Helena Kraemer, PhD. Duration: one quarter. This is required didactic activity.