The Psychiatry Clerkship program is designed for Year 5 students and is delivered over a 3 – week period. In addition to exposing the students to the unique characteristics of the primary care practice, this clerkship presents an opportunity for them to review previous learning experiences and integrate various disciplines for optimal patient care. Students are divided into small group of (10 to 12 students each), to rotate between different centers for the specified periods. Each center will have a team of doctors who will act as mentors for the group of students who will be doing their rotation in the centers concerned and will be responsible for direct supervision of students’ activities. Students are expected to learn by being active members of the medical team, and directly participate in patients' care. Each group of students will rotate between these centers as scheduled in the timetable.
The psychiatric clinical training takes place at Al Amal hospital. Students get an opportunity to interact both outpatients and in patients with acute and chronic mental illnesses. The students are exposed to patients with severe mental illness and with suicide risk, addiction, psychosis, mood disorders, and dementia. In addition, the students are also encouraged to identify and screen for mental illnesses like depression, anxiety and organic disorders.
