Medical Student Clerkships

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science is actively involved in the medical student curriculum. The faculty provide psychiatry instruction throughout Year I-II. In addition, clerkships for the medical students are also offered. Psychiatry is one of the required clerkships for the Year III-IV students. In addition, students may choose psychiatry as an elective clerkship

The department offers two types of Psychiatric Clerkships at the Keck School of Medicine. The required Psychiatric Clerkship is a six-week course based in various divisions of the Department. It includes extensive patient contact in both inpatient and outpatient settings, psychiatric emergency room experience, and a lecture series.

A wide range of Psychiatric Elective Clerkships are also offered to both USC and non-USC medical students who have completed a basic psychiatric clerkship.

Required Psychiatric Clerkship

Clerkship Goals

The Department of Psychiatry believes that every physician should be able to recognize the presence of psychiatric disorders, manage psychiatric emergencies, make appropriate referrals to a psychiatrist or community agency, and be capable of managing uncomplicated psychiatric patients with consultation from a psychiatric colleague. A physician should be able to identify and manage the major emotional aspects of psychiatric illness. He or she should have some awareness of family crisis management, sexual dysfunction and adolescent turmoil. Each physician should be able to correctly prescribe psychopharmacologic agents, and be familiar with their major untoward effects. The clerkship is designed to help students achieve these skills.

Overview

Students have their primary clinical assignments in one of the eight following locations: 1) the Ingleside Hospital Adult Inpatient Psychiatric wards, 2) the Augustus Hawkins/Martin Luther King Medical Center Adolescent Psychiatric ward, 3) the LAC+USC Psychiatric Consultation and Liaison Service, 4) the Kedren Mental Health Center Adult and Adolescent Inpatient wards, 5) the LAC+USC Psychiatric Emergency Service, 6) the USC University Hospital Adult Inpatient ward, or 7) the VA Outpatient Clinic Service. Before starting their clerkship, students may email their top three choices for clinical assignments, and every attempt is made to accommodate these preferences.

On their assigned service, students are given patient responsibility commensurate with their level of training. Supervision is provided by staff and residents. Patient evaluation and management often involve managing biological, social and legal factors in addition to the interpersonal and behavioral aspects of patients’ problems.
All students attend lectures covering a wide range of clinical psychiatric issues. They also attend departmental conferences, have outpatient clinical experiences, and are assigned on two evenings during the clerkship to the psychiatric emergency room, where the Nurse Educator and residents demonstrate and supervise rapid evaluation and treatment techniques.
Students are urged to review the psychiatry portion of their neurobehavior course notes before beginning the clerkship. The student’s skill in interviewing, clinical management and formulating and presenting cases are evaluated through regular supervision, and one written examination is given at the end of the clerkship.

Elective Clerkship

If you are a senior U.S. medical student and interested in an elective with our department, please call Mr. David Kurtz (coordinator) at 323 226-5572 to discuss the opportunities. Inquiries are welcome.