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Clinical Placement in Mental Health

Code: 106714
Credits: 4
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Medicine OB 6

Contact lecturer

Name :
Marc Ferrer Vinardell
Email :
marc.ferrer@uab.cat

Teaching staff

null
Jorge Miguel Cuevas Esteban
Virginia Soria Tomas
José Antonio Soriano Pacheco

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It is advisable that students have no pending subjects from prior courses. Preferably, students will have previously acquired sufficient knowledge in the following areas: Biostatistics; Bioethics and Communication; Epidemiology; Clinical Physiopathology and Semiology; Medical Pathology; Clinical Pharmacology; Mental Health; and Proficiency in a 3rd Language (preferably English).

Students must have successfully passed the subject “Psychiatry”. It is convenient that the student have also passed the following subjects: Medical Physiology I and II; Medical Psychology; Human Anatomy; Neuroanatomy; General Pharmacology; Pathophysiology and Clinical Semiology; and Epidemiology.

Students will acquire the commitment to preserve the confidentiality and professional secrecy of the information to which they may have access in relation to their learning in healthcare services. They will also commit to maintaining a professional ethical attitude in all their actions.

Objectives

This subject corresponds to the final year of the Medicine Degree (6th year), at which the student is already familiar with the scientific and clinical foundations of Psychiatry. The overall objective is for students to consolidate their prior knowledge and to acquire clinical, communicative, and research and management of scientific information skills related to Mental Health.

· Understand the foundations of the transactional relationship between biology and environment in Mental Health.

· Perform diagnoses under the supervision of the faculty by acquiring the skills to obtain a medical history, as well as being able to establish a differential diagnosis.

· Conduct comprehensive psychiatric anamneses, focusing on the patient and oriented towards different psychopathologies while being able to interpret its significance.

· Acquire knowledge of the semiology and the techniques for psychopathological exploration that enable the recognition of major psychiatric syndromes.

· Establish a treatment for a specific pathology after making a diagnosis, under the supervision of the faculty.

· Understand the practical foundations of psychotherapy.

· Become familiar with the practical use of the main groups of medications.

· Establish effective and empathetic interpersonal communication skills towards patients, family members, caregivers, medical team, and other healthcare professionals.

Learning outcomes

  1. Apply the basic elements of bioethics (patients' rights, doctors' obligations).
  2. Involve patients in decisions on the health-illness process.
  3. Apply the theoretical knowledge of the pathology acquired during the bachelor's degree to clinical practice.
  4. Identify the presentation forms of the different pathological processes.
  5. Observe the therapeutic approach, the clinical course and its prevention in cases where this is possible.
  6. Take an active part in care tasks: preparing patient records, requesting complementary studies (laboratory, imaging techniques) when needed and helping to focus the patient record.
  7. Collaborate on simple clinical and surgical manoeuvres after supervised practice on simulators.
  8. Prepare a complete patient record systematically.
  9. Perform an anamnesis and a complete physical examination by systems on adults and children.
  10. Indicate and use the specific diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for the pediatric age group (phototherapy, nebulisers and aerosol-holding chambers, genetic and metabolic studies).
  11. Identify the basic rules of pharmacotherapy in adults and children.
  12. Identify the basic elements of the face-to-face doctor–patient interview in a context of high accessibility and longitudinal care.
  13. Describe the communication process and its effect on the professional caregiver–patient relationship.
  14. Identify basic emotions in primary healthcare patients through the interaction between the different non-verbal components.
  15. Analyse the limitations to the interpretation of behaviour from non-verbal comunication.
  16. Participate in discussions to solve the clinical problems being faced.
  17. Communicate appropriately with patients and their family-members.
  18. Correctly describe the criteria for hospitalisation.
  19. Draft medical instructions, reports on consultations and treatment, official reports and certificates.
  20. Know the basic elements of the communication of clinical research results.
  21. Access the healthcare protocols for the different components of the pathology.
  22. Consult patient records appropriately and keep them in order.
  23. Analyse patient records systematically.
  24. Maintain and sharpen one's professional competence, in particular by independently learning new material and techniques and by focusing on quality.
  25. Be able to work in an international context.
  26. Communicate clearly, orally and in writing, with other professionals and the media.
  27. Use information and communication technologies in professional practice.

Contents

A. Rotations through different healthcare facilities within the Psychiatry and Mental Health Services of the Teaching Units.


B. Attendance and participation in Emergency Team meetings / Participation in Clinical Sessions of the Psychiatry Service / Attendance in Psychiatric Emergency Department shifts (based on criteria and availability as determined by the Teaching Unit).


C. Preparation of a clinical case report or equivalent, as agreed with the supervisor.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Text reading, resume and conceptual assimilation 41 1.64 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 23
ASISTENCIAL CLINICAL PRACTICES (PCAh) 54 2.16 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 23, 24, 27

During the rotation, students will have a dedicated 15-minute period (following the center's established schedule) to complete surveys evaluating the faculty's performance and the course/module itself.

* Exceptionally (and at the discretion of the responsible faculty, who will take into consideration the available resources and the current health situation in the different Teaching Units), some of the content related to theoretical lectures, practical sessions, and seminars may be delivered either in-person or virtually.

** The assessment represents 5% of the 4 ECTS (100 hours), which is therefore equivalent to 5 hours. It is a practical assessment.



Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Structured objective clinical assessment (ACOEs) 40% of the final grade 1.5 0.06 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25
Assessment of Clinical Practice in Mental Health 60% of the final grade 3.5 0.14 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27

Assessment of the practice 60%:

· Continued assessment of the rotation 30%

· Presentation of a clinical case 30%


- Evaluation Grades

Attendance and punctuality 1 2 3 4 5

Attitude 1 2 3 4

Participation and Integration 1 2 3

Initiative 1 2

Communication 1 2


A PASSING GRADE will be obtained if the total score is equal to or greater than 11/16.


DEFINITION OF THE DIFFERENT DIMENSIONS

· Attendance and punctuality: whether the Student has consistently attended every day during the rotation or has given prior notice in case of absence.

· Attitude: if the student is willing to learn, is familiar with and reviews clinical cases, asks questions, and demonstrates a positive attitude towards learning.

· Participation and integration: the students' responsibility in tasks requested by the tutor, ability to work within a team, and the opinions and observations they provide during Clinical Sessions or other clinical activities.

· Initiative: curiosity in learning, reading the Service's protocols as well as diagnostic and treatment guidelines.

· Communication: ability of the student to synthesize and communicate a clinical case to other team members in a Clinical Session of the Psychiatry Service.

PRESENTATION OF A CLINICAL CASE: There will be an evaluation of a presentation of a clinical case during the rotation. Both the written report/summary as well as the oral presentation itself will be taken into account.


Structured Objective Clinical Evaluation – SOCE (ACOEs) 40%

· Practical part 20%

· Theoretical part 20%


This subject does not provide the single assessment system.


Definition of Non-Assessable: Students who fail to undertake both the theoretical and practical assessment activities will be classified as "Not Assessable" and will exhaust their enrolment rights for the course.


Important: Any irregularity committed in an assessment activity (academic fraud, plagiarism, or improper use of AI, unless such use is expressly authorized in the course guide) that may lead to a significant alteration of the grade will result in a mark of 0 for that assessment activity. If the course guide stipulates that obtaining a minimum grade in that assessment activity is an essential requirement to pass the course, or if multiple irregularities occur in the assessment activities of the same course, the final grade for the course will be 0. In addition, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any student who commits any of these irregularities.

Bibliography

  • Vallejo Ruiloba, Julio. Introducción a la psicopatología y la psiquiatria. 8ª edición. Barcelona. Elsevier, 2015. https://bibcercador.uab.cat/permalink/34CSUC_UAB/avjcib/alma991000598859706709
  • Sadock, B. J., & Sadock, V. A. (2015). Kaplan and Sadock : sinopsis de Psiquiatria (11a ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
  • Stahl, S.M. Psicofarmacología esencial de Stahl: guía del prescriptor. 6a Edición. Madrid. Editorial Grupo Aula Médica, 2018
  • Martin, A., Bloch, M. H., Volkmar, F. R. (2018). Lewis’s child and adolescent psychiatry: a comprehensive textbook (Fifth edition.). Wolters Kluwer.
  • Rey JM, Martin A, eds. JM Rey's IACAPAP e-Textbook of Child and Adolescent Mental Health. Geneva: IACAPAP; 2019.
  • Wright, J. H., Turkington, D., Kingdon, D. G., & Basco, M. R. (2025). Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Severe Mental Illness : An Illustrated Guide. (2nd ed.). American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

Software

No used.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE