Medicine of the Mind

The Medicine of the Mind team is responsible for teaching psychiatry, psychology and psychological medicine. Its mission is ‘to deliver a seamless education in psychiatry and related disciplines across the breadth of the undergraduate medical course’.

Specifically, this involves: teaching into the Years 1 and 2 of the MBBS course via the Human Lifespan Development and Health and Human Behaviour subjects as well as a Year 1 elective; directing students’ clinical placement for Psychiatry  during Year 4; and a Year 5 selective subject. Medicine of the Mind also teaches students in the Radiography, Dietetics and Medical Science courses.

Over the past twelve months, Medicine of the Mind has remodelled several aspects of its teaching in the undergraduate medical course in Years 1, 4 and 5, as well as in Year 1 of the Radiography course.

The review and remodelling process aims to achieve several things: to research new and vibrant models for teaching psychiatry; to encourage, recruit and reward vibrant teachers; to use staff and materials more efficiently; and to smooth the process by which students acquire the psychology and psychiatry knowledge they will need to be doctors.

Coordinating all teaching through one office helps eliminate duplication and gaps in teaching, ensures consistency in content and facilitates sharing of resources such as staff, materials, ideas, research, forums and simulations.

Students see the same tutors across the years, which provides them with a consistent reference person and fosters development of personal relationships, mentoring and modelling of professional development. Medicine of the Mind also involves psychiatry registrars in its teaching program to foster peer learning. 

 

Medicine of the Mind team

Director, Undergraduate Medical Education
Prof Rob Selzer

Deputy Director
Dr Revi Nair

Administration
Anne Crawford

Innovations

Medicine of the Mind has introduced a number of innovations and continues to identify opportunities to improve students’ learning experience.

Teaching

1. Clinical placement
In response to students’ feedback, the Year 4 clinical placement has been changed from a split 18-week semester alternating psychiatry and general practice to a continuous 9-week program that emphasises clinically based learning and teaching. Students are embedded in a team and expected to play an active role. All clinical staff and students are provided with clear guidelines about the students’ roles and responsibilities.

2. PEERLS
Instead of traditional case-study-based workshops, PEERLS (Professionalism, Ethics, Evidence-base, Roles, Legal, Systemic) has been developed to help students integrate clinical experiences with theory. PEERLS sessions are patient-based, but held away from the bedside. They are led by a clinician /expert, and involve the tutor sharing his/her knowledge and experience.

3. Resources
So far, Medicine of the Mind has produced a book for students that provides an introductory overview to psychiatry and also a video journal.

Technology

Medicine of the Mind seeks to make maximum use of technology to improve teaching and maximise opportunities for students.

1. Web-based video instructions for PEERLS tutors
These provide an easily accessible guide for PEERLS session tutors.

2. COAT – Computerised OSCE Assessment Tool
This system simplifies and speeds up the process of collecting and posting results of students’ practical OSCE (Observed Structured Clinical Evaluation) exams.

3. TICLE – Texting to Improve the Clinical Learning Experience
By making better use of text messaging, students can be advised of last-minute schedule changes, interesting clinical cases and events. This helps avoid delays, bottlenecks and missed learning opportunities.

4. Exam database
A database of past questions by topic, difficulty, etc facilitates the preparation of examinations.