Medical students must complete a clinical psychiatry clerkship, but may choose to complete it in either Iowa City or Des Moines.

8301:0300 & 8301:0400 - Clinical Psychiatry Clerkship: Iowa City

The four-week rotation will consist of a combination of inpatient and outpatient experiences. Students will be emailed a preference sheet detailing the various clinical service combinations available, with sites at both UI Hospitals & Clinics and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Clinical sites include inpatient specialty units (medicine-psychiatry, geriatric, eating disorders, consultative-liaison, or child) or inpatient general units with a broad range of patients. Outpatient experiences include the Partial Hospitalization Program (including substance disorders), ECT, Women’s Wellness and Counseling Center, and various adult and child outpatient clinics. Additional outpatient and inpatient experiences may be added to respond to the particular interests of the student.

Students are expected to complete self-directed learning exercises covering 10 key topics in psychiatry. These 10 exercises will be accessed through the clerkship’s ICON website. Each exercise will include assigned reading, a lecture, and an online quiz consisting of four multiple choice questions covering diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.

• The 10 self-directed learning exercises will be partnered with 10 lectures covering key topics in psychiatry.
• Psychopharmacology “Jeopardy” will be offered each clerkship with a lunch provided by the department; this activity is run by departmental chief residents and is intended to improve fact recall about psychiatric medications.
• A Resident Teachers Curriculum is established, in which residents use pre-prepared teaching modules at the bedside.
• Students are expected to attend an AA, NA, Al-Anon, or NAMI meeting and write a one paragraph reflection of their experience.
• Students are expected to write a minimum of five SOAP notes and five History and Physicals (H & P’s); one of the H & P’s will be reviewed by the clerkship director.

Students will maintain a log of their clinical activities in accordance with the teaching objectives established nationally and at the college. The students will be evaluated, tested, and graded for the performance on the Reflection Exercise, History and Physical, PBA, inpatient and outpatient clinical evaluations, and the final exam.

Local Clerkship Contact

8301:0300 & 8301:400 - Clinical Psychiatry Clerkship: Des Moines

The four-week rotation will consist of a two-week adult psychiatry inpatient experience at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a one-week child and adolescent psychiatry experience, and a one-week consultative psychiatry experience at Iowa Methodist Medical Center.

Students are expected to complete self-directed learning exercises covering 10 key topics in psychiatry. These 10 exercises will be accessed through the clerkship’s ICON website. Each exercise will include assigned reading, a lecture, and an online quiz consisting of four multiple choice questions covering diagnosis and treatment of these conditions.

• The 10 self-directed learning exercises will be partnered with 10 lectures. The lectures are recorded and available via the ICON web site.
• Psychopharmacology “Jeopardy” will be offered each clerkship.
• Students are expected to attend an AA, NA, Al-Anon, or NAMI meeting and write a one paragraph reflection of their experience.
• Students are expected to write a minimum of five SOAP notes and five History and Physicals (H & Ps); one of the H &Ps will be reviewed by the clerkship director.

Students will maintain a log of their clinical activities in accordance with the teaching established nationally and by the college. Students will be evaluated, tested, and graded in the same way as students in Iowa City. They will return to Iowa City during the third week of the clerkship to complete the required PBA exam. Students will take their final clerkship exam (the shelf-exam prepared by the NBME) in Des Moines on the last day of the clerkship.

Students are provided free housing in a private furnished apartment in the InnTowner Apartments located on the campus of Iowa Methodist Medical Center at 1300 Woodland Avenue. Some meal assistance is also provided.

Local Clerkship Contact