Note: This course is no longer offered as part of the medicine program. Please refer to MFAC 3503.

Objectives: To be aware of the key symptoms, signs and syndromes of psychiatric disorder; to be able to take a history and conduct a mental state examination; to have acquired those skills necessary for a doctor in general or non-psychiatric specialised practice to decide appropriate management strategies; to be aware of, and have some experience in basic counselling skills; to be able to assess a patient's personality, psychological adjustment, coping repertoires, social function; to appreciate the importance of psychological factors in the diagnosis and treatment of illness; to be trained in interpersonal skills appropriate to clinical practice in any area of medicine; to be aware of the appropriate sections of the Mental Health Act and Guardianship Board legislation; to have received basic knowledge in special areas of development disability, forensic psychiatry, child psychiatry, transcultural psychiatry and psychogeriatrics; to be competent in prescribing psychotropic medications; and to be able to use simple behavioural techniques such as relaxation training.
Formal teaching seminars are held in the mornings and afternoons Monday to Friday in week 1, and mornings and afternoons Monday and Friday weeks 2-7. The remaining days are spent at Prince of Wales, St George, St Vincent's, Sutherland, Bankstown, Liverpool and Campbelltown Hospitals, where small group tutorials, case conferences and video analyses are carried out with academic and clinical staff, and clinical experience is obtained. Attachments to liaison psychiatry teams are organised so that students receive the appropriate teaching of skills related to general hospital patients. Visits to appropriate community facilities and to the Forensic Psychiatry Unit at Long Bay Gaol are organised. Voluntary attachments to Illawarra and to a number of rural sites (Wagga, Lismore, Port Macquarie, Armidale, Dubbo, Albury, Coffs Harbour and Taree) occur across the term.
Assessment: A video examination is held mid-term to assess interviewing skills. A written examination is conducted on the first day of the last week of term, and viva voce examinations are carried out during that week. A liaison psychiatry report and two clinical case histories are also part of the assessment.