RESULTS

1
The Effect of Education on Psychology Trainee
Opinions About Psychopharmacology Divy
Ravindranath MD MS, Paul Pfeiffer MD, Brian
Martis MD Department of Psychiatry, University of
Michigan School of Medicine
BACKGROUND The Eastern Michigan University
Department of Psychology introduced a
Psychopharmacology course for its MA and PhD
clinical psychology students in partnership with
the University of Michigan Department of
Psychiatry (UMDP), in the Spring of 2008. The
course was designed and taught by UMDP senior
psychiatry residents (DR and PP). PURPOSE We
hypothesized that, at the end of the course,
students would view medications as an important
component in the treatment of mental illnesses
and that students would see themselves as better
prepared to work with patients who are on
psychotropic medications. METHODS This study
was conducted with approval from the Eastern
Michigan University Human Subjects Review
Committee. Educational Intervention The course
was conducted over two months, with two 2.5 hour
sessions per week. Approximately 75 minutes were
spent each session on lectures on various topics
in psychopharmacology (basic human
anatomy/physiology, pharmacodynamics/kinetics,
antidepressant medications, antipsychotic
medications, applications in geriatric
populations, etc.). The rest of the session was
spent in a modified team based learning format
using five case vignettes processed in teams of 5
to 6 students to highlight important aspects of
the lecture content. The course focused on basic
psychopharmacology and practical aspects of
treating patients with psychotropic medications
in a collaborative care model. Students also
delivered a group presentation on a topic of
their choice. Assessment Students completed a
mixed quantitative and qualitative survey
administered pre and post course (on the day of
the final examination). Quantitative portions
used a 7-point anchored Likert scale to assess
students past exposure and current beliefs
regarding pharmacologic treatment of mental
health disorders. Qualitative portions asked for
participant comments explaining their responses
to the quantitative portions. Data
analysis Comparison of means before and after the
educational intervention was performed using
paired T-tests. Answers that could not be paired
were excluded from the analysis. Illustrative
comments are reported here where applicable.
DISCUSSION Overall, students found this course to
satisfy the learning goals. Post pre course
evaluation revealed small but statistically
significant increased appreciation for the role
of medications in the treatment of mental
illnesses and also increased student comfort with
being a collaborating partner in the use of
psychotropic medications. The magnitude of
change for the questions regarding comfort with
collaboration was large, suggesting that students
perceived this course to be valuable in preparing
them for their future careers as mental health
clinicians. The literature addressing
psychopharmacology instruction for clinical
psychology students focuses primarily on what
should be taught rather than on the effect of
having a course on this topic. One letter did
conclude that psychopharmacology instruction
continues to have positive effects even years
after the students have graduated from their
programs.1 The literature on psychiatry resident
education in co-treatment of patients with a
therapist emphasizes the role of collaboration.2
Therefore, a course focusing on the collaborative
aspects of care may be of particular value in
preparing clinical psychology trainees for
current practice realities. This study did not
include objective measures of course content and
involved a small sample size and single
intervention. These factors should be considered
in interpreting the findings. However, we feel
that this is an important first step in
stimulating further research into both the
content and effects of psychopharmacology
instruction for clinical psychology
students. CONCLUSION Findings from this
preliminary study suggest that a carefully
designed course in psychopharmacology can
increase the future therapists understanding of
the value of psychotropic medications in the
treatment of mental illness and perceived comfort
in working with patients taking medications in
collaboration with prescribing providers.
RESULTS
Sample Characteristics 27 students
3 students elected not to respond to both surveys
Number of participants is 24 Year in
Graduate School 16/24 respondents had some
clinical experience with psychotropic
medications. Rating of experiences
averaged 4.44 (SD 1.33). Anchors 1
negative, 4 fair, 7 positive
Survey Results 1. What is the utility of
medications in the resolution of mental health
problems? Anchors 1 Detrimental, 4
Neutral, 7 Helpful Pre-Intervention
Comments - Though overused, medications can be
helpful and are necessary for the treatment of
many disorders. - Good for some problems and
some patients at some time. - Particularly
helpful for chronic mental illnesses such as
schizophrenia. Also helpful for mood disorders
among others. Post-Intervention Comments -
Depends on the disorder, 7 gt schizophrenia. -
I would venture to say essential. - Weve
got a long way to go with the drugs, as with
therapy. 2. How comfortable do you feel
answering questions about medications from your
patients? Anchors 1 Not at all, 4
Somewhat, 7 Very 3. How prepared do you
feel for coordinating care with your patients
prescribing providers? Anchors 1 Not at
all, 4 Somewhat, 7 Very 4. How
prepared do you feel finding answers to questions
you may have about medications? Anchors 1
Not at all, 4 Somewhat, 7 Very
RESULTS 2 Less Experienced Instructors vs. More
Experienced Instructor

• References
• El-Mallakh RS. Psychological Reports 74 674,
  1994.
• Ellison JM. Academic Psychiatry 29195202, 2005.

Acknowledgements Special thanks to our students,
Dr. Carol Freedman-Doan PhD of the EMU Department
of Psychology, Dawn Bock of the EMU Department of
Psychology for administrative support, Residency
Research/Clinical Scholars Track colleagues at
the University of Michigan for input into this
project, and Dr. Amin Azzam MD for his comments
on the survey design.