Training and Education
Medical Staff
The Mood Disorders Program (MDP) is part of the MUHC, a teaching hospital affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. The MDP is a sub-specialized program that offers training and teaching to medical students and psychiatric residents. Their training involves a one-month rotation for medical students and a six month rotation for psychiatric residents.
Residents receive exposure to mood disorders patients, principally diagnosed with bipolar disorder and major depression, with a diverse range of clinical severity and different needs. Residents participate in new consultations and follow patients for up to six months. During this time, they receive supervision and training in:
- assessment and continuing care of mood disorder patients
- primary care consultations for difficult mood disorder cases
- psychopharmacology consultations
- psychotherapy (e.g. CBT, family approaches) specialized for mood disorders patients
- journal club and discussions of contemporary mood disorder topics
- and opportunity to participate in clinical research in mood disorders
The MDP is also a teaching sub-specialized program for allied-health professionals, providing teaching to McGill students in Nursing, Psychology, and Occupational Therapy.
Nursing
The nurses on our team act as Preceptors for the McGill Nursing students doing their Community Health Nursing stage. The format changes from year to year, but allows student nurses to participate and observe in the assessment and follow-up of patients during approximately 28 clinical days per year.
Psychology
The Mood Disorders Program (MDP) has enjoyed the contributions of doctoral trainees in Clinical Psychology for the last few of decades. Trainees have participated in the Mood Disorders Clinic (MDC) on a rotational basis, serving four-month electives, with a part-time affiliation. Students participate in weekly academic rounds and case reviews, offering presentations of peer-reviewed journal articles from the field of Psychology and Psychotherapy, as applied to mood disorders. As part of the assessment team, they participate in the weekly evaluation of new referrals, and write up the psychological formulation and personal history components of the assessment. They contribute to treatment plans and choose to follow Mood Disorder cases in psychotherapy, under the supervision of a psychologist on the team. As such, our doctoral students have an opportunity to learn about the Mood Disorders as well as the benefits of a multidisciplinary intervention, as patients receive the support of psychiatry, occupational therapy, social work and case management. It is a rich learning opportunity, with a mutually beneficial outcome.
Occupational Therapy
The Occupational Therapy (OT) department is committed to teaching and training and is affiliated with the School of Physical and Occupational at McGill University. Each year the department receives a number of OT students at various levels.
Staff Learning
In addition to each profession’s ongoing educational updates and in-house weekly seminars, our team has weekly seminars to discuss evidence base articles and topics relevant to mood disorders.