Medical Student Teaching

The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine is committed to providing high quality educational experiences in psychiatry for the Medical Students at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Medical Students receive pre-clinical teaching in Psychiatry mainly during Phase II-C in the Neuroscience Block, with both lectures and Team Learning. The main clinical educational venue is a 4 week clerkship in Phase III. Students are assigned to a primary clinical service, either on the Adult Inpatient Unit, the Child and Adolescent Unit, or the Consultation and Emergency Psychiatry Service. During the clerkship, students also attend outpatient clinics, a community mental heath center, and make a trip to Broughton State Hospital. Clinical experiences are supplemented with didactic presentations, Chairman’s Rounds, and bi-weekly Grand Rounds. Clinical interviewing and assessment skills are the focus of weekly Preceptor meetings. (Medical students beginning their clerkship should report for orientation to Conference Room 2 on the 8th floor of the Clinical Sciences Building at 9 am on the first Monday of their rotation.)

In Phase IV students can participate in a variety of Elective rotations including: Outpatient Psychiatry, Consultation Psychiatry, State Mental Hospital, and Rural Mental Health. The department also offers Advanced Inpatient Management experiences (AIMs) in Adult Inpatient and Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry.

The department also offers clinical experiences for Physician Assistant Students from the Physician Assistant Program at Wake Forest University.

Extramural Medical Students can apply for fourth year electives in psychiatry by contacting the Office of Student Services at Wake Forest School of Medicine.