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The 3rd-Year Psychiatry Clerkship typically begins on a Monday with an orientation session at 10:00 a.m. and runs 6 weeks.

In the 6-week 3rd-Year Psychiatry Clerkship, students are assigned to one of 6 inpatient units at the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP) or the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center (VAMC):

In addition, students attend either 1-full day or 2-half day outpatient experiences per week, including the Substance Abuse Treatment Clinic (SATC) at the VA, Forensics at Lieber Correctional Institute, Charleston County Mental Health (child and adult sites), Berkeley County Mental Health Center, the National Crime Victims Center (NCVC), MUH Consult Liaison, VA Consult Liaison, and nursing home visits. 

Twenty-one tracks have been developed pairing the inpatient and outpatient experiences to maximize exposure to difficult patient populations.  Students have the opportunity to rank their preferences for the rotation tracks:

Track # 1
INPATIENT: IOP Child and Adolescent (2 North)
OUTPATIENT: Nursing home visits (Wed p.m.) & SATC (Thurs p.m.)

Track # 2
INPATIENT: IOP Child and Adolescent (2 North)
OUTPATIENT: Nursing home visits (Thurs p.m.) & SATC (Wed p.m.)

Track # 3
INPATIENT: VAMC  
OUTPATIENT: Charleston County Mental Health Center – Adult (Thurs all day)
     
Track # 4
INPATIENT: VAMC
OUTPATIENT: Charleston County Mental Health Center – Adult (Wed all day)

Track # 5
INPATIENT: VAMC
OUTPATIENT: MUH Consults (Thurs all day)

Track # 6
INPATIENT: IOP 1 North  
OUTPATIENT: Forensics at Lieber Correctional Institute (Wednesday all day)

Track # 7
INPATIENT: Geriatric Behavioral Intensive Behavioral Unit
OUTPATIENT: Charleston County Mental Health Center – Child (Wed p.m.) & SATC (Thurs p.m.)

Track # 8
INPATIENT: Geriatric Behavioral Intensive Behavioral Unit
OUTPATIENT: SATC (Wed p.m.) & Charleston County Mental Health Center – Child (Thurs p.m.) 

Track # 9
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: Berkeley County Mental Health Center (Thurs all day)

Track # 10
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: MUH Consults  (Wed all day)

Track # 11
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: Forensics at Lieber Correctional Institute (Wed all day)

Track # 12
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: Forensics at Lieber Correctional Institute (Thurs all day)

Track # 13
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: MUH Consults (Wed all day)

Track # 14
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: National Crime Victims Center(NCVC) (Wed a.m.) & Forensics at Detention Center (Wed p.m.) or NCVC Resident’s Clinic (Wed p.m.)
   
Track # 15
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North
OUTPATIENT: Forensics at Lieber Correctional Institute (Thurs all day)

Track # 16
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North
OUTPATIENT: MUH Consults (Thurs all day)

Track # 17
INPATIENT: IOP 3 North  
OUTPATIENT: Berkeley County Mental Health Center (Wed all day)

Track # 18
INPATIENT: IOP 4 North  
OUTPATIENT: Charleston County Mental Health Center – Adult (Wed all day)

Track # 19
INPATIENT: IOP 4 North
OUTPATIENT: Charleston County Mental Health Center – Adult (Thurs all day)

Track # 20
INPATIENT: 4 North  
OUTPATIENT: VAMC Consult Liaison (Thurs all day)

Track # 21
INPATIENT: 4 North
OUTPATIENT: (VAMC Consult Liaison (Wed all day)

Didactics are comprised of 21 contact hours, including a case conference and lectures, which cover the following topics:

• Mental Status Exam
• Affective Disorders
• Psychopharmacology
• Substance Abuse
• Personality Disorders
• Forensics
• Geriatrics
• Anxiety Disorders
• Child & Adolescent Disorders
• Schizophrenia
• ECT
• Depression
• Inpatient Case Conference
• Geriatric Case Conference
• Child and Adolescent Case Conference

The course concludes on the last Friday of the rotation with the NBME Shelf Exam at 9:00 in the morning and the OSCE (Objective Standardized Clinical Examination) that afternoon.  Students have the day before the exam “off” to devote to studying for the exams.