Clerkship prep

[johnston]

So I'm trying to prep for my psych core clerkship which starts soon. I'm interested in psych and I want to do well on this.

I'm on an inpatient C/L for part of the rotation and in an inpatient adolescent ward for the other part in inner city environment. Could anyone just list some topics that I can review to prepare a bit before starting? Like diagnoses I'm likely to see on these two services? Or drugs to review? Speaking more about the wards then the shelf here.

But, speaking about the shelf.....how relevant is the DSM 5 for my this clerkship shelf? I have a First Aid for psych book that is based on the DSM 4. Can I still use that?

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[OldPsychDoc]

The Shelf has not yet transitioned to DSM5.

 

[Nasrudin]

I crushed the psych shelf--the only one I ever dominated. What helped is that it was my last rotation and I already had taken peds, neuro, and medicine shelf exams. If you haven't taken those it's ok you can still do great you just have to address those areas because there could be a handful of topics that you might think were germain only to those other fields. If you've taken enough shelf exams you know what I mean--you come across questions where you're like...I haven't even taken that clerkship yet, wtf?

I used conrad fisher's step 3 book, Lange question book, and Kaplan and Sadock chapters that addressed all of the medical differentials for psych disorders and then the major psych diagnoses. Don't bother with theory or therapy or anything else, just things like dementia, delirium, neurological disorders etc, and anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and psychotic disorders.

Of course use whatever materials you like. But clue in to how to distinguish closely related diagnoses. And how to tackle questions like childhood development and disorders and other medical diagnoses with psychiatric symptoms. The psychopharm is simple enough--Lange does a good job. Just know uses and side effects. And how to recognize a drug name by class. For instance you'll know the answer is supposed to be an ssri but they'll give you answer choices that might have less obvious ssri's by name.

Good luck.

 

[Nasrudin]

I forgot to mention. Kaplan and Sadock have a good chapter on psychiatric interviewing technique for general clerkship preparation.

Also, with regards to the shelf--one major obstacle is timing. The psych passages are long so I would always read the answer choices first so I new what conclusion I had to arrive at. It takes practice because it's hard to know how to skim a psych passage where one sentence could change your choice between closely related topics. But most passages you can decide how closely to read based on the choices.

I was pressed for time for sure. I had to guess on the last few.

 

[johnston]

I forgot to mention. Kaplan and Sadock have a good chapter on psychiatric interviewing technique for general clerkship preparation.

Also, with regards to the shelf--one major obstacle is timing. The psych passages are long so I would always read the answer choices first so I new what conclusion I had to arrive at. It takes practice because it's hard to know how to skim a psych passage where one sentence could change your choice between closely related topics. But most passages you can decide how closely to read based on the choices.

I was pressed for time for sure. I had to guess on the last few.

thanks for the replies, I looked on Amazon.com and there are multiple textbooks by Kaplan and Sadock about psychiatry, ie comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, synopsis of psychiatry, study guide and self examination review. Could you narrow it down?

 

[Nasrudin]

thanks for the replies, I looked on Amazon.com and there are multiple textbooks by Kaplan and Sadock about psychiatry, ie comprehensive textbook of psychiatry, synopsis of psychiatry, study guide and self examination review. Could you narrow it down?

Sure. I have both a PDF on my iPad and the hard textbook which is the synopsis. The comprehensive one is massive. I'd wait on that because the DSM-5 will necessitate a new edition at some point so just get hold of a PDF. Or get a used copy of the synopsis which is still substantial.

 

[Bartelby]

Could anyone just list some topics that I can review to prepare a bit before starting? Like diagnoses I'm likely to see on these two services? Or drugs to review? Speaking more about the wards then the shelf here.

Off the top of my head for CL: delirium, dementia, decision making capacity evaluations, alcohol/benzodiazepine or opiate withdrawal, substance abuse, agitation or patient care issues stemming from psychosis, depression or personality disorder; depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia are some common starter issues.

Inpatient adolescent: depression with suicidal ideation, severe anxiety spectrum disorders usually with suicidal ideation (GAD, OCD, panic), first break psychosis (substance induced v schizophreniform v bipolar v schizophrenia v schizoaffective), mania, severe aggression and impulse control issues, anorexia and bulimia, substance abuse, autism spectrum disorder, developing personality disorders.

There are plenty of others and I'm sure I left out some big ones as this is an off the cuff list, but if you have a working knowledge of the above as an MSIII I think you will look very good.

 

[johnston]

Off the top of my head for CL: delirium, dementia, decision making capacity evaluations, alcohol/benzodiazepine or opiate withdrawal, substance abuse, agitation or patient care issues stemming from psychosis, depression or personality disorder; depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia are some common starter issues.

Inpatient adolescent: depression with suicidal ideation, severe anxiety spectrum disorders usually with suicidal ideation (GAD, OCD, panic), first break psychosis (substance induced v schizophreniform v bipolar v schizophrenia v schizoaffective), mania, severe aggression and impulse control issues, anorexia and bulimia, substance abuse, autism spectrum disorder, developing personality disorders.

There are plenty of others and I'm sure I left out some big ones as this is an off the cuff list, but if you have a working knowledge of the above as an MSIII I think you will look very good.

Nice! Exactly what I want to know before I start.
Thanks and please anyone add more ideas for me to review