PSY 420 - Acting Internship in Inpatient Psychiatry

Instructor of record: Christina Lee, M.D.

MS4 Site Director(s): Jason Roof, M.D., Marcia Mallorca, M.D., Emilie Bhe, M.D., James Bourgeois, M.D., Resul Ozbayrak, M.D., M.B.A.

Instructor(s):
Amy Barnhorst, M.D., P.C. How, M.D., Swati Rao, M.D., Richard Cross M.D. (Jail Psychiatry Service)
Marcia Mallorca, M.D. (PSY 420 Child Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry)
Debra Kahn, M.D., Huma Attari, M.D., Emilie Bhe, M.D., Christina Lee, M.D., Lorin Scher, M.D. (Consultation/Liaison Psychiatry - UC Davis)
James Bourgeois, M.D. (Emergency Psychiatry - UC Davis)
Resul Ozbayrak, M.D., M.B.A. (California State Prison Sacramento)

Course duration: 4 weeks

Quarters: I, II, III, IV

Units: 6-12

Location(s): Sacramento County Jail Psychiatric Unit, Psychiatric Emergency Department and Consultation/Liaison (C/L) service, Psychiatric Emergency Room (Child C/L service), California State Prison Sacramento Correctional Treatment Center (located in Folsom, CA).

The Jail Psychiatric Unit has 1 seat offered per block, and the Emergency Department and C/L services have 2 adult psych seats, Child C/L has 1 seat per block, and California State Prison Sacramento Correctional Treatment Center unit has 1 seat per block.

Distribution of student’s time: Inpatient care (100%)

Prerequisites: Psychiatry core clerkship and/or consent of clerkship director

Course description: Acting intern position on a progressive and dynamic inpatient unit. Emphasis is on biological psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychodynamic aspects appropriate to diagnosis and management of patients with recurrent depression, bipolar disorder, substance disorders, and schizophrenia chronically mentally ill patients.

Those who elect to rotate through the California State Prison Sacramento Correctional Treatment Center will spend four weeks on a busy psychiatric crisis unit, where patients/inmates are transferred for psychiatric stabilization. Students will work with an interdisciplinary team to help stabilize psychiatric symptoms and help evaluate appropriateness for transfer for ongoing hospitalization. In addition, they will initiate psychiatric medications and address psychiatric emergencies with appropriate behavioral and pharmacological interventions.

Commonly seen disorders in this setting include Substance Use Disorders, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression, and Antisocial and Borderline Personality Disorders.

Enhancement modules:

Clerkship objectives

  • Improve on psychiatric history-taking and mental status exam
  • Improve on ability to treat acutely mentally ill patients
  • Learn to efficiently manage patients in a psychiatric inpatient unit
  • Effectively interact within a multidisciplinary treatment team

Commonly seen conditions

  • Severe major depressive disorder
  • Bipolar I disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Suicidality

Grading Criteria: This course is honors/pass/fail. Honors vs. Pass: An honors student will exceed expectations in four of the six clinical competencies.

Attendance Policy: Per UC Davis Health policy, students can miss no more than 2 days per 4-week block. This includes vacation leave, sick leave, and any admin needs for residency interviews.

*Please note:* The California State Prison Sacramento site is limited to UC Davis students only. Students will need to complete credentialing paperwork at least one month in advance and complete a free livescan at the prison 7-10 days prior to start date.

The Sacramento County Jail site is also limited to UC Davis students only. Students will need to complete credentialing paperwork and a livescan within Sacramento at least 2 months prior to start date. Parking and livescan fees are not covered by the department.

Contact Information

Chris Eisenlauer
Elective Course Coordinator
Phone 916-734-8518
Fax 916-734-3384
Email: cseisenlauer@ucdavis.edu