Program Overview
Undergraduate Programme
The Undergraduate Programme in Psychiatry is a six-week clinical posting that takes place in the fourth year of medical studies at NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine. The primary teaching objective is to equip medical students with basic knowledge and clinical assessment techniques, enabling them to manage common psychiatric disorders at the level of general practitioners.
Teaching Objectives
The programme aims to achieve the following teaching objectives:
- Conduct a systematic psychiatric evaluation using appropriate interviewing and communication skills to elicit signs and symptoms of common psychiatric disorders.
- Develop a working knowledge in the following areas:
- General adult psychiatry
- Risk assessment
- Geriatric psychiatry
- Child and adolescent psychiatry
- Consultation-Liaison psychiatry
- Addiction psychiatry
- Psychopharmacology
- Psychotherapy
- Local mental health legislation and forensic psychiatry
- Manage a psychiatric patient from a bio-psycho-social perspective.
Teaching Methods
The programme employs a range of teaching methods, including:
- Didactic lectures
- Information-technology based lecture-cum-discussion
- Seminars
- Workshops
- Problem-based learning conferences
- Clinical tutorials
- Videotape demonstrations
Clinical Clerkship
Clinical clerkship consists of postings in the wards and outpatient clinics at the National University Hospital (NUH) and other affiliated hospitals. Medical students may also apply for electives at the department during their fourth year.
End-of-Posting Assessments
The assessment consists of a case write-up, multiple-choice questions (MCQs), extended matching items (EMIs), short answer questions (SAQs), and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).
Undergraduate Student Awards
The following awards are available to undergraduate students:
- Psychiatry and Neuroscience Medal & Prize: Awarded to the most outstanding student in Year 4 Psychiatry Clerkship and the fourth professional exam in Psychiatry and Neuroscience.
- Keppel Telecommunications and Transportation Prize in Geriatrics and General Psychiatry: Awarded to the undergraduate medical student with the most outstanding research proposal and publication in Geriatrics and General Psychiatry.
- Jackie Ng Prize in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Maternal Wellness: Awarded to the undergraduate medical student with the best research proposal and publication in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Maternal Wellness.
Criteria of Award
The annual award in Psychiatry is presented to the fourth-year medical student who attains the highest score in the Psychological Medicine posting assessment composite score, which includes:
- Clinical case write-up
- Written Assessment – MCQs, EMIs, and SAQs
- OSCE
The four medical students with the highest scores are invited for a viva voce by a panel of examiners from the Department of Psychological Medicine. The award is presented during the NUS Convocation day in their graduating year. The decision of the panel is final, and no award is made unless there is a candidate of sufficient merit. If no awards are made in any year, the funds available are added to the capital sum.