Medical students

You will have a Trust induction, access to a laptop and training on the Rio system so that you can access patient notes.

All Trust sites have free parking, and travel expenses are managed by the university. 

If you are allocated to Mansfield/Newark there may be accommodation available (limited).

You will have opportunities for learning in both inpatient and community settings, including ward reviews and outpatient clinics.

You could be placed in Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS), intellectual disabilities (IDD), substance misuse services or forensic psychiatry for your specialty week.

There are other opportunities within the placement, which include:

• Community visits with community psychiatric nurses (CPNs), occupational therapists, or other team members.
• Attending multidisciplinary team meetings.
• Additional opportunities of interest such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) Crisis Team, Liaison and journal clubs.
•  You will have plenty of opportunities to practise history taking in psychiatry, risk assessment, and mental state examination, in teaching and by spending time in clinical settings.

 

During my 2-week forensic attachment at Arnold Lodge in Leicester, I was fascinated by the methodical approach and composed manner of the psychiatrists I shadowed. Before this placement, hearing about long-term and refractory psychiatric conditions elicited feelings of hopelessness and dread, but it was only after this placement when I became aware of an entire system in place to help make a difference. I witnessed a lot of personality disorder as a result from unstable and traumatic childhoods, which seemed to generate hopeless cases for patients. However, it was beyond inspiring when I witnessed how psychiatrists approach these patients, and try to make the smallest difference every day, because every difference matters."

Nishant, Year 3 Medical Student University of Nottingham

You may spend part of this placement in the Trust's services for older people

You will have the opportunity to experience the following in a hospital setting:

• Inpatient dementia service
• Inpatient mental health unit - caring for people with severe mental illnesses
• Old Age Liaison Psychiatry, assessing patients presenting with mental health difficulties in acute hospital settings.

You will also have opportunities to learn in the following community settings:

• Intensive Home Treatment Team
• Community Mental Health Team
• Outpatient clinics
• Memory Assessment Service
• Multidisciplinary team meetings

You will be able to undertake mental state examinations and cognitive and capacity assessments.

 

"My time on the wards on my old age psychiatry placement was really useful for my understanding of how psychiatric conditions present and are managed differently in the older population compared to the adult population. I also found it interesting to see how the patients were managed as a whole, as more often than not, they also had physical comorbidities and complex social circumstances. I think the effects of bereavement were more predominant and observing how huge lifestyle changes had such a profound impact on the patients' mental health was eye opening. I felt well supported and enjoyed speaking to the patients and over my time saw a wide range of conditions."

Maya, Medical Student University of Nottingham 

We have a range of areas available for SSM including:

• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 
• Forensic Psychiatry - a closer look at patients in secure hospital setting (Rampton Hospital) 
• Liaison Old Age Psychiatry 
• Medicine and Psychotherapy in Disorders of Emotion
• Perinatal Psychiatry (Community and Mother and Baby Unit) 
• Young Onset Dementia 

• Get involved as if you are part of the team - speak to everyone from resident doctors to consultants to help you to understand what the job is like at all levels.
• Spend time with the other members of the MDT - find out about their roles. There will be opportunities to work with many different professionals during the placement.
• Whatever you are interested in, ask about - someone will help you to get experience / exposure.
• Use your epad (Nottingham students) to structure your placement as it is really helpful to show what you should be achieving.

• Trent Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (events, training, bursaries)
• Mind matters (Nottingham University psychiatry society)
• Royal College of Psychiatrists awards, bursaries and schemes for students including Psych Stars