All internal medicine / psychiatry residents will attend didactics required by each psychiatry and internal medicine rotation site director. Every resident must attend internal medicine core curriculum lectures such as grand rounds, morning report, noon conferences, journal report, etc. while on medicine rotations and likewise must attend psychiatry educational activities while on psychiatry rotations. The educational and clinical experiences designed to help internal medicine/psychiatry residents integrate the two disciplines are a critical part of the training. The following is an overview of the internal medicine/psychiatry integrated educational experiences available at UC Davis.

This mainly inpatient, consultation-based experience provides an early exposure on how to assess and treat patients from both a general medical and psychiatric standpoint. During the first two months, residents will function as a junior resident and see approximately two to four new patients per day while following five to seven established patients. The final two months of this rotation take place in the fifth year of training. During this time, internal medicine/psychiatry residents assume the role of senior resident and spend more time teaching junior residents and students. Residents will also gain experience in dealing with complex ethical issues while participating in transplant committees with the psychosomatic attending. All residents are required to attend psychosomatic lectures while on the service.

Internal medicine/psychiatry residents will spend at least one month at the Sacramento County Mental Health Treatment Center (MHTC) Crisis Unit where they will manage all general medical and psychiatric patient care issues. There are currently two dually trained preceptors in the crisis unit.  All residents are required to attend emergency psychiatry lectures while on the service.

Internal medicine/psychiatry residents will have the opportunity to work in a twenty-five bed inpatient psychiatry unit designed to care for high-risk patients with complicated medical and psychiatric problems. Many of these patients are elderly or need frequent monitoring of various general medical conditions. The unit is supervised by an attending who is board certified in internal medicine and psychiatry.

This ambulatory, consultation-based clinic is part of the psychosomatic medicine rotation but is not required for categorical psychiatry residents. During the four months of the psychosomatic rotation, each internal medicine/psychiatry resident will spend one or two half days per week working with an internal medicine/psychiatry board certified attending while seeing patients with complex medical and psychiatric conditions. A strong emphasis will be placed on learning how to do a complete internal medicine/psychiatry evaluation in the primary care setting.

Each internal medicine/psychiatry resident will spend at least three months working with underserved patients at the Sacramento County Primary Care Clinic. Over 40% of these patients have significant co-morbid psychiatric illness with limited outpatient psychiatric resources. Residents will spend most of their time working one on one with dually trained attending physicians. Emphasis will be placed on learning how to complete a comprehensive internal medicine / psychiatry evaluation and treatment plan.

All internal medicine/psychiatry and family medicine/psychiatry residents will rotate on the VA Med Psych Unit.  The unit is directed by a dually trained attending and is also staffed by categorical medicine and psychiatry residents.  VA Med/Psych Unit patients are veterans who have complex general medical and psychiatric disorders.

During the first year of residency, internal medicine/psychiatry interns will have an intern research block (IRB) as part of the month long ambulatory rotation. During this one half day per week experience, each resident will be assigned a "research faculty advisor", review basic statistics, learn to efficiently use medical search tools, and discuss the basics of evidence-based medicine. Each resident will have at least three months of protected time during the residency to work on scholarly activities that relate to the interface of internal medicine and psychiatry.

Internal medicine/psychiatry residents and faculty meet every Thursday from 12:00-1:00.  With one exception, all educational experiences are shared with the family medicine/psychiatry residents. Categorical residents and medical students are usually invited to attend.

All internal medicine/psychiatry residents are required to attend this case conference, which is held twelve times per year. Each lecture is designed to improve diagnostic skills and treatment strategies relating to commonly encountered med-psych conditions like somatoform disorders, cognitive disorders, depression/anxiety, epilepsy, psychotic disorders, sleep disorders, eating disorders, etc. All internal medicine/psychiatry residents are required to give at least one presentation per year.

All combined residents are required to attend and participate in these unique learning sessions.  The chief residents and core faculty develop longitudinal cases designed to stimulate discussion on evidence-based approaches to assessment, diagnosis and treatment of common med/psych conditions.  These case discussions are designed to supplement important psychiatric subject matter that may have previously only been partially covered for combined residents.

This monthly meeting includes internal medicine/psychiatry residents, training directors and internal medicine/psychiatry advisors. MPR provides a forum to simply touch base and see how residency is going.  Issues concerning curriculum, training sites and recruitment are usually discussed as a group. This meeting is required for all internal medicine/psychiatry residents.

Held on the fourth Thursday of the month, this informal case conference consists of case discussions and didactics that emphasize the recognition and practical management of psychiatric illness in the primary care setting.  Led by combined faculty and open to categorical residents, combined residents are expected to periodically teach and discuss cases.

Fifth Thursday – Open forum and lunch for all internal medicine and family medicine/psychiatry residents and faculty.

This optional evening gathering is held on the first Thursday of each month from 5:15-6:15 p.m. All UC Davis internal medicine and family medicine/psychiatry faculty advisors and resident representatives are welcome to attend these monthly meetings. The focus for this group is threefold:

1.Continually improve the internal medicine/psychiatry and family practice/psychiatry combined
   educational experience for residents and students.
2. Increase awareness of combined training and practice by way of community outreach.
3. Discuss research opportunities in the areas of education and patient care.