Psychiatry and internal medicine resident education in an acute care medical-psychiatry unit.

A Medical-Psychiatry Program has been developed at the University of Iowa. It includes a medical-psychiatry unit, a medical-psychiatry lecture series, a medical-psychiatry residency program, and a medical-psychiatry fellowship. The program enables residents pursuing straight psychiatry or internal medicine training to participate in a rotational experience requiring that they evaluate and treat patients for illnesses in both specialties under the supervision of both a staff psychiatrist and internist. During the rotation the resident learns how psychiatric and medical disease in the same patient complicates patient care and the skills needed to diagnose and treat such patients in the climate of their own specialty. The rotation is considered a valuable training experience by the majority of residents going through the rotation.