Welcome to the Psychiatry Internship Program at Iran University of Medical Sciences! Throughout the year, medical students rotate through the Iran University of Medical Sciences Psychiatry Teaching Hospital. This one-month program provides an opportunity for students to gain hands-on experience in various aspects of mental health and its improvement, while adhering to professional and ethical principles, including confidentiality.

Dear students,

Welcome to the Psychiatry Internship Program! This webpage is designed to help you make the most of your experience and learn as much as possible during your rotation.

Table of Contents:

• Weekly Schedule
• Interacting with Patients                                                               
• Guidelines, Programs, and Useful Resources
• Your Educational Objectives
•  

Weekly Schedule

Your weekly schedule typically follows the plan below; however, always check with your attending physician and their assistant for the latest schedule updates.

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Educational activities and patient rounds

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM: Lunch break

1:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Clinical activities under the supervision of attending physicians or residents.

Please arrive at the hospital on time to ensure a smooth and distraction-free experience for patients and colleagues.

Interns on weekend call will present at morning report. For guidance on this responsibility, please consult the on-call resident.

During your rotation, you will receive hands-on training under the supervision of attending physicians or residents. Be proactive in seeking knowledge and skills from these senior colleagues.

If you would like a specific topic to be covered in the educational sessions, please discuss it with your fellow interns and submit a request to the center's educational director.

Interacting with Patients

When interacting with psychiatric patients, follow the same general principles of professional and human communication as in other departments and hospitals. These principles are both ethical and effective.

Maintain professional attire: This helps establish a safe, professional, and respectful relationship with patients and their families while maintaining clinical boundaries.

Aggression from patients is rare: If you encounter an aggressive patient, safety is the top priority. If you feel threatened, step away and then return to the patient's bedside with the guidance of your senior colleague and, if necessary, with the assistance of hospital security. If you have concerns, discuss them with your attending physician and learn calming techniques.

If you encounter non-clinical requests from patients (such as asking to use your phone or get supplies), politely but firmly decline their request while maintaining a professional and empathetic demeanor. For example, you could pause for a moment to let them finish their sentence and then calmly explain that unfortunately, you cannot fulfill their request due to hospital policies. You could suggest that they discuss this need with their treating physician.

When interacting with patients, follow the general rules of human communication: For example, avoid speaking too loudly or too softly, respect personal space, do not keep your hands in your pockets or behind your back, and actively listen to everyone for at least a few seconds.

Manage your reactions when interacting with patients: A small reaction from us to a patient's words or behavior can cause great suffering for them or their families.

Minimize cell phone use during patient visits to minimize the potential for any concerns or misunderstandings, such as recording conversations, ignoring the patient, etc.

During patient visits, you can bring your textbook and refer to relevant sections while listening to the patient and colleagues and relating it to your clinical experience. (See the Useful Educational Resources section).

Everything we hear about patients in clinical sessions and educational rounds is confidential and must be kept confidential.

Evaluation of mental health is only permitted in the context of professional activity and only with the patient's consent. Refrain from assessing the mental health of individuals who are not officially your patients and avoid using psychiatric terms to describe individuals' unique and multifaceted personalities.

Guidelines, Programs, and Useful Resources

There are many valuable and useful resources for psychiatric education for general practitioners. Here are some of the good resources available in the hospital library.

• DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria App

This app allows you to search for the names of psychiatric disorders and view their diagnostic criteria. Quick access to the criteria during rounds or clinical sessions helps to understand the patient and memorize the criteria. Get the app here.

• Mental Status Examination and Physical Examination Checklist

This one-page summary includes components of the psychiatric mental status examination, as well as common symptoms, signs, and syndromes. You can print this sheet and use it to identify symptoms and signs while listening to the patient during rounds or clinical sessions. Get the worksheet here.

• Kaplan & Sadock's Clinical Psychiatry Pocket Handbook

This book is a summary of one of the most recognized scientific sources in psychiatry. It helps you quickly access general and concise knowledge about major topics. View this book here.

• Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Coursebook

This book is also a source for theoretical psychiatric education. View this book here.

• Psychiatric Training with Clinical Examples

This book, following an introduction to psychiatry and psychiatric interviewing, presents numerous clinical examples of various disorders. View this book here.

• Psychiatric Emergency with Clinical Examples

This book, primarily targeted at psychiatric residents, addresses emergency situations such as aggression, suicide, and managing accident victims. View this book here.

• Psychiatric Consultation with Clinical Examples

Some chapters of this specialized book are useful for you; for example, chapters on "Delivering Bad News" and "Managing Patients Facing Death" are beneficial for every physician. View this book here.

• Medscape App

This app is useful for any physician. In the psychiatry section, it helps you easily find appropriate medication doses and standard therapeutic uses, calculate corrected QT intervals, recognize drug half-lives, and more. View this app here.

• General Practitioner Booklet

This practical guide for assessing and treating mental health disorders is designed for general practitioners by the Ministry of Health's Office of Mental, Social, and Addiction Health. This guide summarizes the expected actions from a general practitioner in a simple and pleasant manner. Download the guide here.