Consultation-liaison elective for primary care residents

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychiatry
• Internal Medicine

Background:

• Consultation-liaison services integrate medical and psychiatric training.
• Resident education in these services aims to enhance patient care through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess educational expectations of internal medicine and psychiatry residents on a joint consultation-liaison service.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the rotation in meeting these expectations.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to internal medicine (N=24) and psychiatry (N=13) residents.
• The survey assessed educational expectations and perceived benefits of the consultation-liaison rotation.

Main Results:

• Internal medicine residents found patient interaction most valuable and desired more psychiatric training for supportive therapy.
• Psychiatry residents highly valued exposure to medically ill patients and organic brain disorders.
• Discrepancies noted in psychotropic prescribing practices, with internists prescribing more frequently than advised by psychiatrists.

Conclusions:

• Both internal medicine and psychiatry residents reported significant benefits from the joint rotation.
• Residents recommended increased rounding time and resident-to-resident presentations to further enhance mutual learning.
• Continuation of the integrated rotation is strongly advocated by both groups.