Each resident is assigned to one of three inpatient treatment teams during each four-week rotation on Adult Inpatient Psychiatry. Each team has one attending psychiatrist, one or two residents, and medical students. The residents change teams each rotation to give them an opportunity to work with attendings and learn different styles of practicing psychiatry.
There are two adult psychiatry inpatient units at Rush University Medical Center. There is a 13-bed General Adult Inpatient Unit. This unit cares for patients who suffer from a full range of acute psychiatric disorders that require inpatient treatment including psychotic disorders, mood disorders, and co-occurring substance use disorders. The second adult inpatient unit is an 11-bed Mood Disorders Unit. There is a strong emphasis on the use of group cognitive behavioral therapy as well as the use of psychopharmacological and neuromodulation therapy for people who suffer from major depression, bipolar disorder, and co-morbid anxiety disorders. Each team follows patients on both units.
Residents participate in daily walk rounds with their attendings and students on the inpatient teams. They also participate in formal multidisciplinary rounds several times a week. Residents work closely with a social worker, occupational therapists, nurses, and mental health workers to optimize the care and individualize the treatment plan of each of their patients.
The inpatient psychiatric rotations provide our residents with a strong introduction into the breadth and depth of Inpatient Psychiatry. Residents become adept at taking a psychiatric history and performing a complete mental status examination. They develop skills evaluating and treating psychiatric disorders. They learn to formulate and implement comprehensive treatment plans, including the use of psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic approaches, and to coordinate aftercare planning as part of the multidisciplinary team.
Residents complete
Both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Pediatrics and their respective training programs have earned Rush national recognition for clinical excellence. Likewise, residents speak very highly of their Emergency Medicine rotation.
The Department of Neurological Sciences has a national reputation for excellence and consistently provides a very well received and important educational rotation for our psychiatry residents. Our residents complete 2 four-week rotations in Neurology during their PGY-1 year on the General Neurology Service, Stroke Service, and Epilepsy Service
PGY-1s have five or six calls per month. Each call is from 8 AM to 9 PM. Only one PGY-1 resident is assigned to call per day. There is a senior buddy who works each intern until they are ready to graduate to independent call. Residents cover acute issues on the inpatient psychiatric units and admit new patients to those units. Additionally, from 4-9 PM, they see new consultations on the general medical floors and pediatric units. They also see some consults in the Emergency Department. The latter was implemented based on resident feedback and has been instrumental in preparing our residents for their emergency psychiatry and night float rotations as PGY-2s. There is no night float or weekend call.