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Participants in the Psychiatry clerkship will be assigned to several rotations during the clerkship that will give you an opportunity to see a wide variety of psychiatric patients in various settings. In addition to the core rotations, students will spend a half-day per week in various outpatient venues.

Rotations

During the psychiatry clerkship, you will spend time on adult and child inpatient and outpatient psychiatry, consultation and liaison psychiatry and addiction medicine depending on the campus and rotation assignments. Students also will get some exposure to emergency psychiatry through on-call duty with preceptors and residents. Clinical venues include:

Columbia Campus

  • Missouri Psychiatric Center (MUPC) 
  • University Hospital and Clinics
  • Truman Veterans Hospital
  • Student Health Center
  • Thompson Center
  • Community settings

Springfield Campus

  • Cox North
  • Mercy
  • Burrell Behavioral Health
  • Clark Community Mental Health Center
  • US Medical Center for Federal Prisoners

Site Descriptions

See site specific orientations on Blackboard for more detailed information.

Adult and Child Inpatient Units

Students work on multidisciplinary teams in inpatient units with adults and children hospitalized for acute psychiatric illness.  Inpatient rotations involve exposure to a variety of therapies, including recreational and occupational therapy, brief group and individual psychotherapy, medication and electroconvulsive therapy. Students work closely with psychiatrists and psychiatry residents and participate in staffings, daily rounds and multi-disciplinary treatment planning. Inpatient units are located in MUPC and the VA (Columbia) and Cox North (Springfield).

Typical activities:

  • Follow several patients
  • Attend rounds/staffings daily
  • Document based on attending requirements
  • Do physical exams as indicated by your resident or attending physician
  • Attend therapy groups
  • Help with discharge summaries for the patients followed
  • Read/study for psychiatry exam as time allows

Consultation-Liaison Service (Psychosomatic Medicine) and Addiction Medicine

Assigned students work on the Consultation-Liaison Service with adults hospitalized for medical reasons. The service consults on patients presenting with co-morbid medical and psychiatric conditions and/or addictions which require evaluation. The students in Columbia will work closely with psychiatrists, a nurse practitioner and residents. Students in Springfield will work with a Family Practice physician who is board-certified in addiction medicine.

Typical activities: Perform and document two to three consults per day for general medicine patients in collaboration with attendings and residents.  While on the substance-abuse treatment unit, participate in evaluations, observe groups and follow one or two patients.

Outpatient Psychiatry

Students will generally spend one-half day per week in various outpatient settings including:

  • Adult Psychiatry Clinic in the South Providence Medical Park
  • Child Psychiatry Clinic in MUPC
  • Student Health Center
  • Thompson Center
  • Bridge Program (community-based)
  • Various Springfield locations 

Typical activities include shadowing and collaborating with an attending psychiatrist, resident or fellow one-half day per week in various outpatient settings. Students may conduct interviews, collect collateral information and review and summarize medical records.

Note: Students assigned to the Adult Inpatient Unit at the VA will also spend some time in their Outpatient Clinic.

Emergency Psychiatry

Columbia

  1. All students will be on call four times during their six weeks on the psychiatry rotation. Each student will take two weekday calls from 4:30 p.m. to midnight and two weekend calls — one day call from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and one night call from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Refer to the call schedule for specific dates and times.
  2. You must remain on site for the duration of your call but may be released early from night call at the discretion of the resident on call if demand is low. Note however that you may be paged to return if demand increases.
  3. Students will receive a copy of the residents' call schedules via email.
  4. For weekday calls, students should page the resident on-call on beeper 397-9800 at 4:30 p.m. and again at 10 p.m. (shift change). For weekend calls, students should page the resident upon arriving for duty and when going off call.
  5. Emergency Psychiatry calls will cover the Missouri Psychiatric Center, University Hospital Emergency Room and the VA. The psychiatry resident should page the student on every call. Duties are to be assigned only by the psychiatry resident on call.
  6. All changes to the call schedule must be cleared through the student coordinator at 573-882-8598. If you are ill and unable to come in, contact the resident on call and leave a message on the coordinator’s voice mail at 573-882-8598.
  7. Student call rooms are N312 for men and N313 for women.
  8. If the student on call has a strenuous call experience, he/she may be excused from clerkship responsibilities after lectures. If not and lectures are scheduled that day, you may leave at noon.

Springfield

Calls in Springfield may vary depending on the block as the opportunities and clinical venues evolve. The associate directors will provide more detail during orientation for each block.