Clerkship Survival Guide

The following are some tips on surviving psychiatry clerkship.

The way you present your patient's history helps frame a story and diagnosis in the listener's mind. For example, in internal medicine, a patient with diabetes might have their story described as: “This is a 56 man with a history of Type II Diabetes, HbA1c of 9.2%, poorly controlled on insulin.” Here is a way to present your patients to keep yourself organized, and your listener focused.

Patient name, age, relationship status, children, employment status (and occupation), income assistance/financial status. Pertinent past psychiatric diagnoses vs no past psychiatric history. Voluntary vs. certified patient. Chief complaint / reason for arriving in the ER.