Unit information: Psychiatry and Ethics in 2013/14

Unit name	Psychiatry and Ethics
Unit code	MEDI23130
Credit points	0
Level of study	I/5
Teaching block(s)	Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52)
Unit director	Dr. Potokar
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	Must have progressed from previous year of the MB ChB Programme
Co-requisites	None
School/department	Health Sciences Faculty Office
Faculty	Faculty of Health Sciences

Description including Unit Aims

Open to MB ChB students only. Includes Psychiatry and Ethics.

Intended Learning Outcomes

• Describe the prevalence & clinical presentation of common psychiatric conditions & how these differ with age, developmental stage & culture.
• Explain biological, psychological & socio-cultural factors & multifactorial aetiology.
• Understand normal life adjustments & transitions (including bereavement) and recognise how they differ from mental illness. Recognise the danger of inappropriately medicalisation.
• Describe current psychological, physical & social treatments for psychiatric conditions (including lifestyle and ECT), indications for use, mechanism of action & side-effects.
• Understand that stepped care is often appropriate and that good treatment induces improved well-being & growth, not just reduced symptoms.
• Describe self-risk (suicide, self harm &/or neglect, high risk behaviour), risk to & from others (including child abuse, domestic violence between adults & protection of vulnerable adults) & how this increases the risk of psychiatric & personality disorders.
• Summarise major categories of psychiatric disorders, e.g. ICD-10.
• Describe range of services and roles of professionals involved in mental healthcare, self-help, service user & carer groups.
• Describe the recovery model and that services differ from each other & change over time.
• Describe the principles & application of primary, secondary & tertiary prevention.
• Take a full psychiatric history, carry out a mental state examination (including cognitive assessment) & write up a case (for medical records).
• Describe symptoms & mental state, aetiology, differential diagnoses, management plan & assess prognosis.
• Screen empathically for mental illnesses in non-psychiatric settings. Recognise how medically unexplained symptoms may have psychological origins.
• Communicate effectively with patients & colleagues. Discuss with patients (including children and challenging patients) & relatives the nature of their illness, management options & prognosis.
• Summarise & present in an organised & coherent way. Be able to make appropriate referrals to psychiatric services.
• Plan appropriate physical & psychosocial investigations.
• Evaluate information about family relationships & other relevant social factors & their impact on an individual patient.
• Evaluate the impact of mental illness on the individual, their family & those around them.
• Assess a patient’s capacity to make a particular decision in accordance with legal & GMC requirements.
• State the doctor’s duties & the patient’s rights under appropriate legislation. Behave according to good ethical & legal principles. Understand the importance of confidentiality & when this should be over-ridden, including in young people.
• Appreciate the therapeutic relationship. Enable patients to be actively involved in decisions about their care.
• Act safely with patients. Understand the potential to do psychological harm, e.g. by providing untrained psychotherapeutic interventions & fostering inappropriate doctor-patient attachments. Recognise the limits of one's own competence & know when to ask for help.
• Accept that illnesses of the brain/mind are of equal importance as illnesses of other parts of the body. View psychiatric patients as being as deserving of the same care as those with physical illness. Demonstrate understanding of how patients’ opportunities may be affected by stigmatisation of mental illness & show sensitivity to the concerns of patients & their families about this.
• Recognise the importance of multidisciplinary teamwork in psychiatric, community, general medical & non-medical settings.
• Reflect on how working in health settings may impact upon one's own health & that of colleagues. Understand the importance of seeking professional help if mental health problems develop.
• Show how your learning in Years 1 & 2 can be applied to a clinical case study and demonstrate appropriate ethical and legal analysis.
• Outline the ethical & legal requirements in medical research.

Teaching Information

Psychiatry: Clinical attachment, working with in-patients, community and outreach teams; 2 GP attachments; small group tutorial sessions; plenary teaching in Bristol; self-directed learning using online tutorials and DVD; SSC study time. Ethics – Two days of ethics lectures/tutorials in Academies, a 1-hour central lecture in week 2 and a half-day central seminar in week 4. Communication Skills – Half day of small group teaching in week 4.

Assessment Information

• Best of 5 / MCQs
• EMQs
• Essay
• OSCE / DOSCE

Reading and References

Library link

https://www.ole.bris.ac.uk/webapps/cmsmain/webui/_xy-136348_5-t_hYyAB8mF