Educational Programs

Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Medical Care

This second year course provides a framework for using diverse perspectives in analyzing current ethical problems in medicine at both the institutional and individual levels. Current issues are discussed from legal, ethical, sociological, and economic perspectives and include neonatal care, military medicine, informed consent, experimentation, active and passive euthanasia, reproductive choices, genetic screening and counseling, and macro and micro allocations.
 
Course Director: Edmund G. Howe, M.D., J.D.
Ethics Course Syllabus

Human Behavior

This course provides lectures and small group discussions in normal human development, psychopathology, and the biopsychosocial model in medicine to second year students. The first segment of the course focuses on biological, psychological and social substrates of normal and pathological human behavior. The second segment introduces major psychiatric disorders and emphasizes biological, psychological and social factors in understanding, diagnosing and treating these disorders. Small group sessions held throughout the course emphasize learning objectives through case discussions and are intended to provide clinical correlations to lecture materials.
 
Course Directors: MAJ Kristina Money, USAF, MC COL Charles C. Engel, Jr., M.P.H., MC, USA
Human Behavior Course Homepage

Third Year Psychiatry Clerkship

During this six week rotation, students participate in practical clinical work, individual supervision and seminars and case conferences. In their daily work on inpatient wards and/or consultation-liaison services, students are supervised by psychiatry residents and staff. The Department strongly emphasizes the biopsychosocial model, integrating biological, psychological and sociocultural knowledge to understand behavior and disease. The development of clinical interviewing, diagnostic and treatment planning skills are central to the clerkship. Particular attention is given to disorders often seen in the international focus of military medicine. Each student meets weekly with a senior clinician preceptor for review and discussion of case histories. Mandatory seminars and case conferences consider both practical and theoretical aspects of emotional disorders.
 
Director: Dr. Matthew Goldenberg
Third Year Psychiatry Clerkship Handbook

Fourth Year Clerkships

The Department offers students four week clerkship and eight-week subinternship experiences in areas such as community psychiatry, research, child/adolescent psychiatry, inpatient psychiatry, outpatient psychiatry, consultation/liaison psychiatry, substance abuse, military psychiatry, hospice care, geriatric psychiatry, emergency psychiatry, legal medicine and medical ethics.
 
Director: Edmund G. Howe, M.D., J.D.

National Capital Military Psychiatry Residency Program

USUHS is a participating institution in the National Capital Military Psychiatry Residency Program in conjunction with the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, National Naval Medical Center, and Malcolm Grow U.S. Air Force Medical Center. The program prepares residents to practice general and military psychiatry in a variety of settings prominent in the developing health care environment. The program teaches advanced skills necessary for psychiatrists practicing in the unique environments of the military. In addition, the program is a leader in training flexible, knowledgeable psychiatrists for the multiple roles military psychiatrists will perform in the 21st century. Graduates will be experienced in traditional inpatient, outpatient, and consultation-liaison settings as well as innovative partial hospital, primary care, and multi-disciplinary mental health settings. USUHS and other Department of Defense medical readiness agencies assist the program in teaching a wide variety of military psychiatry rotations and courses. Residents receive specialized advanced training in combat casualty care, military medical administration, and service-specific training that includes aerospace medicine, Army division psychiatry, and operational Naval experiences.
 
Director: COL Douglas Waldrep, M.D.

Fellowships

The Department of Psychiatry offers psychiatric Fellowships in the following areas: Military Psychiatry and Traumatic Stress Disorders. In collaboration with the USUHS Department of Preventive Medicine, the Department of Psychiatry also offers a Fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry. In addition, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center offers Fellowships in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. Department members serve as faculty for these opportunities.
 
The Department of Psychiatry, USUHS sponsors the Fellowship in Military Psychiatry for physicians who have completed their residencies in psychiatry and who wish to gain academic and research expertise in an applied military setting in order to pursue careers in military medicine. The Fellowship consists of a one or two year program which builds upon the basic level skills and knowledge in military and community psychiatry to which graduates of military psychiatric residencies are exposed. Core experiences are provided in examining the impact of traumas and disasters on communities and individuals. Emphasis is placed on the development of skills in translating research findings into practical recommendations that can aid Command in responding to such events. The Fellowship is designed to institutionalize and preserve expertise in Military Psychiatry and to create a pool of individuals who can assume leadership positions relating to the whole spectrum of preparation for and responses to man-made and natural disasters. For more information, please contact COL Charles Engel, MPH, MC, USA, Program Director, Military Psychiatry.

Clinical Scientist Training Program

The Clinical Scientist Training Program is a two year educational experience dedicated to exploring psychiatric responses to trauma and disasters. Clinical scientists participate in seminars and other educational format designed to increase their understanding of psychotraumatology. Clinical scientists are active members in the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress research team. As members of this team, they are included in all aspects of research in the area of biopsychosocial responses to trauma and disasters. Clinical scientists select one topic area within the field which to research and summarize in a paper. Recent participants in this program have included Major (Dr.) John Wong of the Singapore Armed Forces and Drs. Klaus Wothe and Susanne Bruns of Germany. Contact COL Ann E. Norwood, MC, USA for additional information.

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