(PO-096) (PO-096) Exposing Medical Students and PGY-2 Psychiatry Residents to Psycho-oncology by Implementing a New Teaching Rotation

Background
Since the ACGME does not provide specific requirements for psycho-oncology, there is concern that general psychiatry residents are not well trained to treat the cancer patients they will encounter. Morreale et al. suggest ways to target this void in training including incorporating didactic sessions on psychiatric comorbidities in cancer patients within medical education curricula and encouraging medical students interested in psychiatry to take electives in psycho-oncology (Morreale, 2017). We aimed to follow these recommendations by creating a combined outpatient/inpatient psycho-oncology rotation.



Methods
We will describe a novel one-month combined outpatient/inpatient psycho-oncology rotation established for PGY-2 psychiatry residents and third-year medical students. Trainees start their day in an outpatient clinic, followed by inpatient multidisciplinary rounds. During this rotation, trainees acquire knowledge and skills regarding the assessment and management of psychiatric conditions seen in oncology patients while also learning about psychopharmacology unique to this field. Trainees are exposed to issues of end-of-life care and hospice services; collaborate with other services, including palliative care and physical medicine and rehabilitation; learn about therapeutic interventions for challenging issues such as loss, bereavement, and death in a culturally diverse patient population; and enhance their teaching skills by providing didactics to medical students. At the end of the rotation, trainees interested in psycho-oncology are encouraged to complete an academic project to further develop their knowledge in the field.



Results
Through faculty feedback evaluations, trainees have found the rotation to be helpful in: understanding the multi-faceted aspects of providing care to cancer patients, strengthening knowledge of psychopharmacology, understanding the roles of an interdisciplinary team, developing teaching skills, and creating an interest in future careers in psycho-oncology. In addition, trainees have also presented psycho-oncology related posters in several professional national conferences.



Discussion
There is limited existing literature about how to model rotations on an outpatient consultation-liaison service. Yet, within the available data and similar to our program’s feedback thus far, trainees have responded well to such integrated care rotations (Zimbrean, 2020). Despite it being a subspecialty of psychiatry, exposure to psycho-oncology at our program as early as medical school and in the PGY-2 class has been met with positive reviews, exposing residents and students to unique and complex situations while also meeting the required learning objectives of their respective training level.



Conclusion
Exposure to psycho-oncology during medical school training and early on in general psychiatry residency allows for a positive experience in learning and career development.



References
Morreale, M.K., et al. Providing Psychiatric Care for an Expanding Population of Cancer Survivors: Imperatives for Psychiatric Education and Leadership. Acad Psychiatry. 41, 1–3 (2017).

Zimbrean PC, et al. The Educational Value of Outpatient Consultation-Liaison Rotations: A White Paper From the Academy of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Residency Education Subcommittee. Psychosomatics. 2020 Sep-Oct;61(5):436-449.

Learning Objectives:

• To highlight the need for exposure to psycho-oncology in medical school and residency training.
• To demonstrate how a psycho-oncology rotation was implemented in a medical education setting.
• To support that early exposure to psycho-oncology in medical education can be organized in such a way to meet trainees at their experience level.