PSYCHOSOCIAL MEDICINE

Catalog description

Psychosocial medicine provides an opportunity for students to learn to recognize and manage common psychiatric disorders and psychosocial issues encountered during the care of patients and the interrelationship between mental and overall health. Students explore normal psychological development across the lifespan and the role of mental health experts and other health providers in the management and coordination of patient care. The psychiatry unit focuses on psychiatric problems seen in medicine, introducing students to the differential diagnosis and treatment of major psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, personality and mood disorders, psychosis, substance abuse, and somatoform disorders. The psychosocial unit fosters an awareness of those issues which impact a patient's well-being and a sensitivity to the diversity and concerns of the patient. Topics discussed include emotional and behavioral responses to illness, injury, stress and trauma, the concept of spiritually, cultural diversity and the impact on medical care, substance abuse, violence prevention, and death and dying. Prerequisites: Successful completion of first semester of the PA program.