Medical Student Education in Psychiatry

Psychiatry Core Clerkship PSYC 300A

The psychiatry core clerkship is a 4-week, clinical experience designed to solidify the knowledge of psychiatry that students have acquired in the Practice of Medicine courses, as students (clerks) gain practical skills in the application of this knowledge to clinical clerkship situations. The focus is on interviewing skills, psychiatric evaluations, clinical reasoning, and an overview of psychosocial and biological treatment modalities for the major psychiatric disorders. The clerkship consists of clinical work on inpatient units, some (half-day) outpatient clinics, and a couple (on-call, weekly for the firsts three weeks) emergency department shifts, under the supervision of academic and clinical faculty; a weekly didactic series by academic faculty; and attendance at Grand Rounds (didactics instead of Grand Rounds during the summer months).

Clerks are assigned to inpatient care settings in one or two of the following sites. (Clerks are given the opportunity to express their preferences regarding assignments. The final rotation assignments are, however, determined by the department based on availability of sites.)

• Stanford Health Care (SHC)
  Core clerks do inpatient work on a comprehensive medical-psychiatric unit (G2 – patients have psychiatric and medical disorders), an acute care psychiatric unit (H2), a geriatric psychiatric unit (GPU), and/or the consultation-liaison (C/L) psychiatry service. Clerks will learn about psychiatric evaluations/diagnosis and psychopharmacologic and psychosocial treatments, with somewhat different patient populations depending on the clinical unit/service. In addition to this inpatient work, clerks participate in some half-day, outpatient clinics at Stanford. The clerkship will try to assign specialty clinics based on the clerk’s interests, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, child/adolescent, bipolar disorder, geriatric and general psychopharmacology clinics (see below). An alternative to doing some half-day, outpatient clinics is to participate full-time in outpatient clinics for part (1-2 weeks) of the core clerkship (if interested, clerks should contact the clerkship director in advance).
  
  
• VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), core clerks work on the Acute Inpatient Services and/or inpatient Consult-liaison Psychiatry Service.
  
  The Acute Inpatient Psychiatry Service immerses clerks in the care of patients in the most acute states of psychiatric disorders. They will work in one of three 20-bed locked inpatient units that serve both male and female veterans, ranging from young adults to geriatric individuals. Clerks will have the opportunity to work closely with their team in the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, mood disorders, PTSD, and personality disorders. They will also attend legal hearings and participate in multidisciplinary rounds with nursing, recreation therapy, social work, psychologists, peer specialists and other providers in the collaborative care of patients.
  
  The Consultation-Liaison (CL) Psychiatry Service involves providing psychiatric consultations, evaluations, and follow-up to medical and surgical inpatients throughout the VA Palo Alto campus, including the intensive care units, Acute Traumatic Brain Injury Rehab Unit, Spinal Cord Injury Unit, Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program and Integrated Extensive Treatment Program. Clerks will learn how to disentangle medical and psychiatric symptoms and use both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. They will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the VA Immersive and XR Network and the National Center for PTSD Tech into Care, integrating cutting-edge digital technologies as non-pharmacological interventions in their treatment plans.
  
  In addition to this inpatient work at VAPAHCS, clerks participate in some half-day outpatient clinics at Stanford. The clerkship will try to assign specialty clinics based on the clerk’s interests, including obsessive-compulsive disorder, child/adolescent, bipolar disorder, geriatric and general psychopharmacology clinics (see below).
  
  The core clerkship at the VAPAHCS is ideal for Stanford medical clerks who are eager to explore innovative approaches in psychiatric care, work with diverse veteran and active-duty cohorts, and integrating pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, including digital technologies, into clinical practice.
   

• El Camino Health Scrivner Center Mental Health and Addiction Services  (2590 Grant Road, Mountain View)
  The El Camino core clerkship focuses on giving a broad overview of psychiatry in various settings, primarily on the inpatient psychiatry unit, as well as on the consultation-liaison psychiatry service, and in outpatient clinics. The curriculum revolves around 1) Developing diagnostic and assessment skills in both inpatient and outpatient settings 2) Improving clinical decision-making skills 3) Expanding fund of knowledge in psychiatry, with emphasis on psychotherapeutic techniques and psychopharmacology 4) Enhancing empathy in engaging patients, appreciating patient autonomy, and delivering patient-centered care 5) Appreciating the importance of diversity and inclusion in patient care.
   

Clerks are informed about the specific clerkship requirements at the orientation offered at the start of each clerkship period. Clerks will be provided with a course syllabus and three textbooks (DSM-5, First Aid in Psychiatry and Clinical Psychiatry). Clerks will independently perform and write up 3-4 history and physicals and log seeing at least one patient with the following diagnoses: mood, substance use, anxiety, cognitive, and psychotic disorders.  The NBME Subject Exam in Psychiatry is a required component of the clerkship.

Periods Available: 1-12, full-time for 4 weeks, 10 clerks per period. Prerequisites: None.
Clerkship Director: Charles DeBattista, M.D., debacorp@stanford.edu, 650-723-8324.
Clerkship Coordinator: Quynh Dang, qdang@stanford.edu , 650-725-2769.
Terms: Aut, Win, Spr, Sum | Units: 6

Stanford Subspecialty Outpatient Clinics in the Psychiatry Core Clerkship

The subspecialty outpatient clinics (half-day) at Stanford will provide core clerks with exposure to a wide variety of mental health conditions seen in a typical outpatient practice. In most clinics, clerks can expect to be assigned 1-3 patients that may include new intakes and follow-up patients. New visits are typically 90 minutes and follow-up appointment are 30 minutes. For the assigned patients, clerks will lead the interview, present to the attending, write the progress or H &P note, and provide any needed additional follow-up in conjunction with the resident and attending psychiatrist. Clinics may either be remote, In person or a hybrid of the two. Clerks may select from these clinics depending on their interests and clinic availability.

Other Clerkships
(Selective I, Selective II, Electives, and Continuity Clinic Clerkship)

Other Clerkships in the third and fourth years of medical school offer clinical instruction in inpatient and outpatient interdisciplinary settings, designed to teach students how to conduct a diagnostic assessment and to use standardized diagnostic criteria and psychiatric treatments.  Doing a sub-internship in Psychiatry (Selective II) is highly recommended for medical students considering matching to a psychiatry residency.

Selective I Clerkships 4.8: Selective Clerkship Requirement | MD Program | Stanford Medicine

• PSYC 328B (Addiction at VAPAHCS) Addiction Treatment Services
  
• PSYC 308E (VAPAHCS) Trauma Psychiatry -- currently not available
   

Selective II Clerkships 4.8: Selective Clerkship Requirement | MD Program | Stanford Medicine

• PSYC 358A (SHC, open to visitors) Subinternship in Inpatient Psychiatry
• PSYC 362B (VAPAHCS, closed to visitors) Subinternship in Inpatient Psychiatry
   

Elective Clerkships

• PSYC 326A (SHC) Child Psychiatry Clerkship
  
• PSYC 333A (SHC) Sleep Medicine for Medical Students  
  
• PSYC 353A (SHC) Psychosomatic Medicine (Psychiatry Consultation Service) Clerkship
  
• PSYC 355A (SHC), Geriatric Psychiatry Clerkship
  
• PSYC 398A (SHC, VA) Advanced Clinical, Research Elective in Psychiatry
   

Continuity of Care Clerkship in Psychiatry

• FAMMED 310A (SHC, VAPAHCS) Continuity of Care Clerkship in Psychiatry
  (Even though this clerkship is listed in the Department of Family Medicine, it offers clinical work with a preceptor in an ambulatory setting in any field of medicine, including psychiatry. If interested contact the Charles DeBattista, M.D., debacorp@stanford.edu, 650-723-8324)
  Clerkship: Continuity of Care | SHIELD | Stanford Medicine
   

Visiting Clerkships

• Visiting Medical Students
• Stanford Clinical Opportunity for Residency Experience (SCORE)
  Visiting students from diverse backgrounds (URM)

Please refer to the below for research opportunities.

• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research
  
  
• Areas of Research and Academic Activity
  Click on “Lab Name or Research Topic” to search by topic 
  
  
• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Annual Academic Update
  See section on Advancing Science > Research Highlights for thumbnail sketches about each research group
  
  
• MedScholars 
  see MedScholars electronic posting of laboratory opportunities. The Assistant Director, Medical Student Research & Scholarship is Celina Ng celinang@stanford.edu
  
  
• Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences T32 Medical Student (MS1 and MS2) Research Training Summer Fellowships in Clinical Psychiatry
  The Stanford University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has openings for NIMH-funded medical student fellowships for Summer 2024. This fellowship is designed for those who are interested in pursuing careers in psychiatry.   Positions are available for up to two summers.  Candidates should have an identified area of interest and potential Stanford mentor.   Research activities include involvement in ongoing research projects and, ideally, development of independent projects with the Stanford mentor’s guidance. Stipends for NIMH training fellowships are approximately $5,000 for the summer. These positions are open to Stanford University 1st and 2nd year medical students. The applicant must (1) be a U.S. citizen or a Green Card holder AND (2) be in a Stanford University Medical School MD or MD/PhD program. Candidates must contact Stanford faculty in their area of interest before applying and identify potential Stanford mentors in the application (see faculty list at http://psychiatry.stanford.edu).
  
  To ask questions contact Dr. Alan Schatzberg afschatz@stanford.edu  To apply, send the following in one email to Dr Schatzberg (Deadline Feb 15, 2024):
  • Statement of specific research interests including interest in any particular Stanford Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences faculty member
  • Curriculum vitae
  • One letter of recommendation

APA's Roadmap to psychiatry
 

Stanford training programs in psychiatry

• Residency programs
• Fellowship programs

American Psychiatric Association: Explore a Career in Psychiatry
 

American Psychiatric Association: Professional Interest 
(subspecialties and other areas in psychiatry)

Fulbright Global Scholars Child Psychiatry Mentorship Network