{"id":1245,"date":"2022-12-04T02:33:42","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T02:33:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/artlovemedicine.com\/?p=1245"},"modified":"2023-09-01T02:16:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T02:16:09","slug":"how-to-survive-your-psychiatry-clinical-rotation-in-pa-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artlovemedicine.com\/how-to-survive-your-psychiatry-clinical-rotation-in-pa-school\/","title":{"rendered":"How to survive your psychiatry clinical rotation in PA school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Psychiatry or behavioral health rotations are required rotations for most (if not all) PA programs. There are many settings in which you could have a psychiatry rotation with some of the most common being inpatient, outpatient, or telemedicine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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***Note: Included in this post are links to some Amazon products. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you), but don\u2019t feel pressured to buy anything! I only include links to products that I have tried or would use myself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please note, this is just my personal experience and all opinions and recommendations on this blog are my own. My opinions and recommendations do not reflect the opinions or recommendations of my employers or schools. Nothing in this article is intended as medical advice. I share all this information to share information I wish I would have known prior to my experiences. Everything on the blog is just my opinion and experiences.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My psychiatry rotation experience<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I enjoyed my psychiatry and behavioral health rotation way more than I thought I would. I had low expectations about psychiatry and this rotation completely changed my mind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My psychiatry was at an inpatient floor in a local hospital. My preceptor was a PA with several years of experience in the psychiatry field and certifications in behavioral health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some Things I Learned on my Psychiatry Clinical Rotation <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Taking a behavioral health or psychiatry history is different than your a primary care history and physical<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I imagined that a behavioral health interview was different than a primary care history and physical, but I didn\u2019t really learn how to do a psychiatric interview until my clinical rotation. I discuss more below about how to conduct a psychiatric interview, but overall the psychiatric interview includes a lot more social history and psychiatric history (both personal and familial). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is important to establish rapport with the patient<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While this is always important, regardless of specialty, it is extra essential in psychiatry. Unlike other areas of medicine where vitals or lab findings can indicate a diagnosis, in psychiatry the diagnosis is made mostly from what the patient tells you. Patients must be very vulnerable and trusting with you to share the information you need to know in order to help them. Establishing rapport and having empathy with the patient is the only way to do this and to help the patient feel cared for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People go through more than you could possibly imagine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Life is truly not fair and the cards aren\u2019t dealt the same. Patients will share with you extremely sensitive and personal information. You will see how the things that people go through affect their mental health. You will see people at their worst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a lot of room for growth and learning in the field of psychiatry <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The field of psychiatry is one of the newest fields of medicine and was not taken seriously until the mid-20th century. Due to this and lack of technology previously, a lot is not known about psychiatry. Psych drugs often work, but a lot of how they work is unknown. Neuroscience and what is known about the brain is constantly changing. I believe there is a large opportunity in the field of psychiatry for learning and discovering. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Psych medications can truly change the course of someone\u2019s life<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I had no clue how quickly and drastically psych medications can change a patient\u2019s condition. A patient would come in with severe psychotic symptoms and a few days after starting treatment would seem like a completely different person and no longer have the psychotic symptoms. It was incredible to see how medication can improve a condition so significantly and rapidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a limit to what a medication can do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While medication does work, certain conditions require multifaceted treatment to see improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Treatments affect all patients differently<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While one medication may work really well for one patient, it may have a totally different effect on someone else. This was a reminder to me that treatment needs to be tailored specifically to each patient and that there\u2019s not one thing that will fix all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Everything affects one\u2019s mental state<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Peoples\u2019 past, history, current living situation, family, and day-to-day life all affect their lives. It\u2019s important to get a good history and be understanding with your patients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Struggles in my Psychiatry Clinical Rotation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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The content of psychiatry and hearing peoples\u2019 stories is very heavy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are many sad situations, depressing stories, and discussion of heavy topics which can be very emotionally taxing and overwhelming. It\u2019s important to take care of your own mental health while on your psychiatry rotation. Some things that I did to help take care of my own mental health during the rotation was exercise after coming home, doing something relaxing (and non-school-related in the evening), and meditate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Important things to know about psychiatry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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The field of psychiatry is very wide and with many different schools of thought<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The psychiatry settings (inpatient, outpatient, telemedicine, addiction medicine, etc) are all very different. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind that your psychiatry rotation may be completely different than someone else in your PA program. Outpatient is very different than inpatient. A psychiatric clinic in an underserved area will be very different than a rehab facility in an affluent area. Regardless of your rotation setting, you need to learn and study conditions and medications that are used in any psychiatry setting. Your exams will likely test you on things that you will NOT see during your time on rotation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is so much that isn\u2019t known in the field of psychiatry, neuroscience, and how behavioral health drugs affect the brain<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When asking questions during the rotation, I would often get the answer \u201cwe do this because \u2026.., but we don\u2019t exactly know exactly why it works.\u201d As stated above, psychiatry is a newer field compared to other areas of medicine, so there is a lot that is unknown. While this may be intimidating, it also gives an opportunity of learning that other specialties don\u2019t have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are many legal factors affecting treatment (or lack there-of)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Especially in an inpatient psychiatric unit, patients may have legal implications of them being there. Also, the treatments and medications that patients are on may impact peoples\u2019 legal status or what people can do after discharge. This is something to keep in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Some psychiatric matters differ between states<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With different laws in different states, some patients may not disclose certain information to you for fear of implications that could have for them legally. Also some treatment plans can differ between states, especially regarding controlled substances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Medical conditions affect psychiatric conditions and vice versa<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You may get focused on someone\u2019s psychiatric history when interviewing them and discussing treatment plans, but always keep in mind medical conditions and rule out any medical causes for certain conditions. For example, hyperthyroidism should be ruled out with new onset anxiety and palpitations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What I brought with me on the psychiatry rotation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n