Training Description:
People presenting for evaluation of a psychiatric crisis are at risk for significant medical issues that can arise related to their underlying psychiatric condition. Mental health clinicians need to be familiar with some common presentations and the high-risk medical conditions across the lifespan. This training will consist of 3 modules:
- Youth – This module aims to increase clinicians’ and mental health professionals’ knowledge about key medical conditions and complications of youth, so they can make appropriate referrals for medical and psychiatric care, and effectively communicate across levels of care to expediently refer youth that need that need to be evaluated for further medical work up.
- Adults – This module will familiarize providers with the common effects of substances, features of presentations that may overlap between medical and psychiatric causes, as well as common and important medical conditions that may occur in psychiatric or non-psychiatric populations, but which require more attention concurrent to psychiatric treatment to aid clinicians in identifying when they may need additional medical support to evaluate or care for a given individual.
- Older Adults – This module will focus on: Cognitive health and resilience, cognitive impairment and safety, and common psychiatric issues in older adults. Topics include healthy aging and cognitive resilience strategies, including tips for aging well; cognitive impairment and dementia including initial evaluation, screening and common safety issues; and some common psychiatric disorders in older adults.
Objectives:
After completing this training participants will be able to:
- Assess youth in behavioral health emergencies with moderate and high risk of medical complications to appropriately refer for further medical work up
- Discuss the features of delirium that may distinguish a primary medical condition from a psychiatric presentation
- Apply effective communication techniques for difficult discussions with older adults and caregivers
Credit Designation Statement:
The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School-OCME designates this enduring material for a maximum of 3.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.