Dept of Psychiatry heading
Course/Program Name:

    Psychopathology

Students:

    Second Year Medical Students

Course or Program Director(s):

    Sally E. Taylor, M.D.

Course Co-Director:

    Christopher L. Wallace, M.D.

Description of Educational Program:

    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 the Behavioral Science course which immediately precedes it. 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 psychiatric interview. Students participate actively in small group 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. 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.

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