Inpatient Psychiatry at Riveredge Hospital

Department of Psychiatry

  • Course Information

    Course Number: RPSY603

    Prerequisites: Completion of the Phase 2 Psychiatry Clerkship

    Length of Time: 2 weeks

    Phase Availability: Phase 2 and Phase 3

    Credit Type: Physician Assessed Patient Facing (PAPFE) or Open

    Call: No

  • Contact Information

    Program Director: Aamir Safdar, MD

    Coordinator/Scheduling: Allison King (aking75@uic.edu)

    Location: Riveredge Hospital (8311 W Roosevelt Rd, Forest Park, IL 60130)

Narrative Description: Students will work under the direct supervision of Dr. Safdar as he provides diagnosis, management, and treatment to patients. Students will gain proficiency in interviewing patients, expand on their diagnostic and management skills, and improve their understanding of the mental status exam. Students will be encouraged to take on a leadership role and to work closely with medical personnel on the treatment team.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the course students will be able to:

  1. Students will learn initial and follow-up evaluation skills to provide comprehensive adult, child and adolescent psychiatric assessments in inpatient and outpatient settings.
  2. Students will learn comprehensive therapeutic approaches to stabilizing co-occurring acute psychiatric and addictive disease symptoms.
  3. Students will use DSM-5 criteria and the mental status exam to aid in expanding differential diagnoses.
  4. Students will develop their understanding of the uses and benefits of a dual treatment approach using medications and psychotherapy.
  5. Students will expand their knowledge base of psychopharmacology through discussion of treatment plans and focus will be placed on FDA-approved and common off-label use of medications.
  6. Students will build on M3 clerkship competence and continue to develop and improve their professional skills by working directly with a variety of mental health personnel.
  7. Students will continue to develop and improve their presentation skills.
  8. Students will continue to build on their understanding of the role that psychiatrists and mental health professionals play in healthcare.
  9. Students will continue to improve their documentation skills and focus on developing their abilities to write concise assessments in the form of biopsychosocial formulations.
  10. Students will expand their understanding of psychotherapeutic modalities with emphasis on cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapies.

Learning Activities:

With supervision from Dr. Safdar, students will be directly involved in the following:

  1. Triage and stabilization of acutely ill psychiatric patients.
  2. Assessment, evaluation, and treatment of psychiatric patients.
  3. Participation in patient admissions and discharges while working closely with nurses and staff.
  4. Participation in individual/group therapy and working with therapists, counselors, and case managers.
  5. Participation in family sessions.
  6. Participation in partial hospitalization outpatient treatment.
  7. Formal presentation on a topic of interest.
  8. The students will spend time rounding on patients with me five days a week.
  9. They will learn psychiatric documentation.
  10. They will be spending time with our social work department and attend various group therapy, individual therapy and family therapy sessions.
  11. They will learn different modalities in our Creative Arts therapy program.
  12. They will be involved with our admissions and referral processes.
  13. They will shadow our psychologists completing testing.
  14. They will familiarize themselves with our discharge protocols and wellness checks post discharge.
  15. They will also see patients in our outpatient clinic as well as the IOP and PHP programs.

Description of Learning Activities:  Detailed Services at Riveredge Hospital

  • Inpatient Services
    • Child, Adolescent, General Adult, Dual Diagnosis/Co-Occurring, I/DD, Intensive Treatment Units
    • Robust programming is provided across all IP units, to include Process, Creative Arts Therapy, NAMI Recovery Specialist and Skills groups.
    • Psychiatrist-led treatment planning occurs at least 1x per week for each patient, and includes participation of assigned therapist, RN, Utilization Management and guests
    • A hybrid medical record is utilized for medication administration and documentation
  • Residential Services
    • Residential treatment unit (14 beds) for young men aged 16-21 with behavior disorders
  • Outpatient Services
    • Complement of OP services including PHP, IOP, and Traditional Outpatient for Child, Adolescent, and Adult.
  • Additional Services
    • TeleAssessments; TeleHealth
    • Robust discharge planning, including bridge appointments and discharge caring calls facilitated within 72 hours of discharge.
    • Psych Testing– Inpatient and Outpatient Services
    • NAMI Family Support Specialist – weekend 1:1 support meetings
    • Community engagement and collaboration – partnerships with Community Mental Health Board of Oak Park, NAMI Metro Suburban, The Kennedy Forum.

Method of Assessment:

Students will be evaluated in a standardized fashion using the UIC elective evaluation forms. The evaluation will be based on direct observation of their clinical skills during the elective by Dr. Safdar. They will be assessed through direct observation, case presentations and getting feedback from various departments at the hospital.

Required Reading:

  • This textbook, as well as journals and articles are suggested to use for learning needs.

General Scheduling:

It will be 80% inpatient and 20% outpatient. It will be all at the Riveredge Hospital. The schedule may vary based on the availability of supervising staff for inpatient/outpatient. Weekend duties TBD on an individual basis. Monday-Friday: 8:00 – 12:00 and 13:00-17:00

Additional Resources: None

Miscellaneous Information: None