Mentorship and Clinical Engagement in Child/Adolescent and Adult Psychiatry

A mentoring program designed to expose first and second-year medical students to the rewarding fields of child/adolescent and adult psychiatry, and to increase awareness and education about child/adolescent and adult mental health issues. The early years of medical training consist primarily of didactic instruction, an almost universal challenge for students who enter medicine desiring to help and interact with patients. To increase engagement with the field, we bring clinical psychiatry to preclinical students, by interacting with patients and families, as follows. During our weekly seminar time, we interview a patient and family one week, then offer a debriefing, Q&A session the following week. The seminar includes open discussion, addressing questions about specific interactions with the child/adolescent or adult, diagnoses, and therapies used for treatment. Responses to students' questions invariably address evidence-based approaches to assessment and treatment of specific disorders, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, autism, and attentional disorders. We also facilitate opportunities for the students to get involved in cutting-edge scientific research, networking/collaborating (including with medical students and faculty around the world), and attending professional conferences. The course is offered during autumn, winter and spring quarters and is intended as a longitudinal seminar to be taken continuously across these quarters. Medical students who cannot attend three quarters may enroll with permission of the instructor. Non-medical students interested in the course should contact the instructor.