Two important goals of a successful psychiatric clerkship are to
maximize students' responsibility and flexibility and to provide knowledge
and skills relevant to their future careers. The author describes an
elective program within the required medical school psychiatric clerkship
that meets these criteria. On the basis of feedback from both students and
staff, the author concludes that the advantages of the elective program to
students, patients, faculty, and the department far outweigh the
disadvantages.Abstract Teaser