Service and teaching issues in an inner-city university-based psychiatry clinic

The provision of quality out-patient psychiatric care to a predominately black inner-city population, in a University setting such as ours, is a complex and challenging task. This paper addresses service and teaching issues related to the provision of that care in the Adult Unit of the Howard University Hospital Mental Health Clinic. In this setting there is a mandate for clinical teaching and research as well, two vital components in the delivery of quality psychiatric service by knowledgeable and skilled health care providers.