University of Pittsburgh
Organ System Pathophysiology

Introduction to Psychiatry
MS-1

May 10, 2010 – May 21, 2010
12 half days

Jason B. Rosenstock, MDCourse Director
Jason B. Rosenstock, MD
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry
rosenstockjb@upmc.edu

Course Description

This course follows the neuroscience course with study of functional manifestation of diseases or altered activity of the brain.

The goals of the course are:

  1. to familiarize students with the most common and important psychiatric illnesses.
  2. to help students prepare for clinical encounters with psychiatrically ill patients by providing a foundation for understanding psychiatric disorders and principles of psychiatric assessment and management.
  3. to foster appreciation for the fact that psychiatric illness is commonly encountered in all medical practice, and early detection and treatment can significantly improve patient outcomes.
  4. to build on material from the preceding neuroscience course in showing how neurobiological factors play out in behavior, and how treatment approaches derive from this understanding.

The 60 faculty are from 6 departments: Epidemiology, Medicine, Neurobiology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Surgery.

Educational Methods

Lectures Problem-based learning Videotaped patient interviews Self-study exercises
Clinical case conferences Patient write-ups Live patient interviews    

Curricular Themes

Epidemiology; Human development/life cycle; Medical ethics; Medical genetics; Medical jurisprudence; Mental health and mental disorders; Substance abuse; Violence /abuse; Women’s health.

Evaluation

Evaluation for this course is determined as follows:

  • 90% of the final grade is based on an examination. The examination consists of multiple-choice items, and a brief write-up of a mental status examination, assessment, and plan based on a patient vignette.
  • 10% of the final grade consists of a written mental status examination associated with the small group on schizophrenia, and full participation in all small-group exercises.

Grading: This course comprises 20% of the grade for the Organ System Pathophysiology Block, Section 1. The block section is graded Honors, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory.

Faculty Note

Jason Rosenstock, MD is a recipient of the Kenneth E. Schuit Award and the Sheldon Adler Award for Innovation in Medical Education. In addition, Dr. Rosenstock is a member of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Academy of Master Educators.