Barbara Doleshal, M.D.

Course Co-Director:

Ocatvio Martinez, M.D.

This 50-hour course meets from July through October of the sophomore year. Instructional activities include 36 hours of lecture, 10 hours small discussion groups, 2 hours of standardized patient interviews, 1 hour of Myers-Briggs testing, 3 hours of optional exam reviews, and 7 hours of examination (two two-hour exams and a three-hour final) and earns a total of 2.5 hours credit. The course is required for second-year medical students. Classroom lectures introduce students to normal human development over the life cycle with attention to biological, psychological and sociocultural influences. In addition to the life cycle, lectures cover such topics as stress and illness, mental defense mechanisms, learning and health, sleep, behavioral neurology, human sexuality, death and dying, cultural issues in medicine, domestic violence, ethics and role adaptations of medical students and physicians.

The 10 hours in small discussion groups take place throughout the course, with timing dependent on coordination of topics with relevant lecture subjects. Students assigned to each group are supervised by two faculty members. The experience functions as a laboratory in which the student is expected to apply the concepts supplied by classroom instruction and readings in observation and discussion, for which feedback is given by supervising faculty.

The major goal of the course is to provide a medically relevant overview of the psychological, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human development and behavior that is useful for non-psychiatric physicians. It also serves as basic preparation for subsequent courses in psychiatry.

Sally Taylor, M.D.

Course Co-Director:

Christopher L. Wallace, M.D.

This is a 60-clock-hour course in descriptive psychiatry with emphasis on the care of patients in primary care and non-psychiatric medical settings. It builds on what students have learned in Behavioral Science. There are 46 hours of lecture, 14 hours of small group activities, 3 hours of optional examination reviews, 3 examinations, and earns 3.5 credit hours.

The major goal of the Psychopathology Course is the training of sophomore medical students in basic clinical psychiatry. By the end of the course, students gain an understanding of psychological factors in the medical and surgical care of patients. Through small group activities, students learn to conduct a disciplined, purposeful patient interview. Students participate actively in discussions, and experience aspects of the doctor-patient relationship firsthand. The importance of ethical issues, such as confidentiality and informed consent, and clinical documentation, are discussed with students. In addition, students learn to organize their observations into a report describing clinical findings.

Students learn to recognize and describe the signs and symptoms, predisposing and precipitating etiological factors, and general prognosis of the psychopathological entities listed in DSM-IV.