My inpatient psychiatric unit rotation was truly a memorable one as it exposed me to be an entirely new setting and approach towards patient care. On average, most patients were admitted for a period of two weeks. This provided the rare opportunity to track a patient and progress over time. It was rewarding to observe a patient respond to pharmaceutical therapy in this time. For example, the majority of the patients presented with schizophrenic exacerbations and significant hallucinations. A two-week course of Risperidone and inpatient care ensured that they were compliant with medications. Significant reductions in hallucinations were readily observed. In this process, I also learned to set realistic standards and goals towards psychiatric treatment. Although the ideal situation would be to bring the patient to our version of reality and as a fully functioning individual, we must keep in mind that the goal of treatment is to bring the patient to his level of baseline. This usually means that the patient’s symptoms are managed so that they no longer present as a threat or source of harm to the patient. The best treatment outcome may mean reducing the patient’s suicidal ideations or hallucinations.

Additionally, the psychiatric rotation experience taught me how important the patient interview is. The initial patient interview process often took nearly an hour. This was due to the fact that patient’s were oftentimes slower in thought, experiencing hallucinations, or may present with contradicting information due to personality disorders. It took a much longer time, empathy, and questions to extract the necessary history to diagnose the patient and initiate proper patient. Overall, this experience taught me that extraordinary patience and realistic expectations are needed to provide optimal care for patients.