Medical Student Education

The Medical Student Education Program is co-directed by Dr. Claire Smith and Dr. Andrew Alkis and is coordinated by Dr. Mae Laroya. The Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences provides required coursework throughout the medical student curriculum, with each course building upon the goals and objectives from the previous year. In addition to the required courses, the Department provides numerous 4-week elective rotations available to 4^th year students, as well as 2-week selective rotations for 3^rd year students.

In all of our course offerings for medical students, we employ a continuous quality improvement model. Responding to student feedback and enhancing students’ education through innovative methods of teaching are priorities for the department. The importance of student feedback is highlighted by our annual tradition of recognizing teaching excellence with awards for faculty members and residents.

In addition to helping students obtain a solid knowledge base in Psychiatry & the Behavioral Sciences, our courses and clerkships focus on developing effective communication and patient management skills that will be important in students work with patients in all fields of medicine. Dr. Smith and Dr. Alkis, as well as the other faculty members welcome inquiries about psychiatry as a career and about psychiatry residences at MUSC and other universities. We also welcome students from other medical schools across the country in our electives, and encourage students to participate in our Psychiatry Interest Group.

Please take a moment to explore our website and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions that you may have.