First Aid for Jefferson Clerkship Students

Psychiatry

General Information - Contacts

Clerkship Directors	Dr. Mitchell Cohen Dr. Abigail Kay	Mitchell.Cohen@jefferson.edu, 215-955-6592 Abigail.Kay@jefferson.edu, 215-955-9453
Course Coordinator	Danielle Stull	Danielle.Stull@jefferson.edu
Current Liaisons (2012-2013)
3rd Year Liaisons	Grace Kronauer Nona Lu
4th Year Liaison	Archana Varma	archana.varma@jefferson.edu

Site-Specific Information

• Belmont
• Bryn Mawr
• Christiana
• Einstein
• Jefferson

Program Comparisons at a Glance

Criteria	Belmont	Einstein	Jefferson
Number of Students	8 students/block	5-8/block	15-20/block
Students/Resident	2-3 students/resident and attending	One student per attending	~3 students/resident and attending
Services Available	Adult inpatient, Child and adolescent, Dual Diagnosis	Adult and Geriatric Inpatient, Consult/Liaison, Crisis Response	Adult and Geriatric Inpatient, Consult/Liaison, Adult Outpatient Services
Average Hours/ Days on Service	~8 hrs/day, 2x 3 weeks/service	~8 hrs/day, 2x 3 weeks/service	~8 hrs/day, 2x 3 weeks/service
Evening Hours	3 nights of call, hours varied, no overnight call	Students take 2 "short calls" until 7 or 8 p.m.	Students take 3-4 calls until midnight
Weekend call	None	None	1-2 days of weekend call
Students from other schools?	No	Yes, and PA students	Visiting fourth year students only

Rotation Basics:

Grade: One case write-up, attending evaluations, resident on call evaluations, shelf exam. There is no psychiatry OSCE.

What books/materials/white coat supplies do you need?

• Blueprints for Psych, First Aid for Psych, NMS Psychiatry.
• Case Files or Pretest - Helpful if you want Q&A board style questions.
• At some sites, you may not be encouraged to wear a white coat or stethoscope. You will still need your PDA and a small notebook, etc. so make sure you have pockets or a place to carry these items.

Student-suggested helpful hints:

• Take time to learn psychotropic drugs and their side effects early on in the block as you will frequently be asked questions about pharmacology on the floor.
• Begin working on your case report and presentation (if applicable) early as these assignments are time-intensive and can take away from study time later on in the rotation.
• Start studying early for the shelf exam, as it was more difficult than most students anticipated. As far as studying for the exam, students suggested a) reading about the diagnoses and management of patients every night b) using review books such as Case Files, First Aid or Blueprints for basic knowledge and also a question book such as Pretest and Kaplan Step 2 Q-book for subtleties and c) expect lengthy vignettes on the actual exam compared to practice questions and be sure to wear a watch as time can be an issue during shelf exams.
• Use the rotation to get to know your patients well. Compared to other rotations, you will usually have more time to delve into patients’ histories, so take advantage of this opportunity and enjoy getting to know them.
• Be an advocate for your patients as you may be the one who is most in tune with their particular needs.
• As with all rotations, be an enthusiastic, self-motivated member of your team, and remember to have fun.

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Last revised: 07/12