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Medicine in Society - that is the social and human context in which illness occurs and the systems set up to deliver treatments for that illness are an increasingly important issue in medical education and healthcare. This rotation will give you an unique understanding of that process. Barnet general hospital runs the worlds largest and most comprehensive crisis intervention service. It enables patients to be seen in their homes at any time of day or night within two hours of referral. As a student you will in addition to seeing patients in the hospital and in clinics be able to go to emergency rooms, medical wards and to the homes of patients and gain experience in the care of psychological problems in a non institutional context.

Barnet psychiatric unit Is a mental health centre in the grounds of a large genereal hospital . It has clinics for outpatients visits and a day hospital. The in-patients are in Edgeware hosptal which has a 150 beds providing a range of psychaitric services.tal serving all the psychiatric needs of a populationof 300,000 in north London. There is a library and a post-graduate centre. Residence is availble at Colindale hospital and has been upgraded. There is a canteen on site for meals and a shopping centre within walking distance. Access to Central London is via the undergraound tube and bus. There is a free shuttle bus between Edgeware and Barnet hospitals.

Dr. Lawrence Ratna has been associated with the programme for over 18 years Dr. Ratna will give 12 lectures plus tutorials on basic psychiatry. Your training will be in the form of an ongoing apprenticeship with him. . There are additional lectures on family therapy and postgraduate topics. There are also seminars on special topics from time to time and you will be taken to conferences at which Dr. Ratna is speaking.

STUDENT DUTIES

You will be required to interview and present at least six cases covering the major forms of mental illness. There is a mid-term exam and a final exam. In your sixth week you will need to do a presentaion on a topic of your choice. You will be provided with a DSM IV hand book and a set of textbooks which will form the core of your knowledge base. There is an interactive CD-ROM learning station and learning videos available. You will split your time between work on the wards and going out into the community and to the emergency room at the main hospital. If you wish you can go on call with the mobile emergency service. There is a postgraduate centre with a library and there are several other learning opportunities such as observing post-mortems for example.

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