Medical Student Education

Consistently the highest-rated third-year clinical rotation experience, UNM’s Psychiatry Clerkship gives students hands-on experience in treating a diverse patient population in a variety of settings using evidence-based treatments.

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"From inpatient wards to shifts in the psychiatric emergency department, you will participate in a wide range of psychiatry. Who knows, you just might find your specialty. I did!" - Molly C. Whitt, MD

What to Expect: The Phase II- Third Year Clinical Psychiatry Clerkship

Over four weeks, you will learn in seminars and supervised clinical experiences including at New Mexico’s only 24/7 dedicated psychiatric emergency service. You’ll care for patients as part of an interdisciplinary treatment team and have the option to rotate at the following locations:

University Psychiatric Center Acute Adult and Geriatric Units
Children’s Psychiatric Center Acute Children and Adolescent Cottages
VA Medical Center Acute Adult Unit
Sandoval Regional Medical Center Inpatient and ER Consultation

Psychiatrists work at the intersection of physical and mental health, applying their medical knowledge to improve patients’ lives in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Today’s psychiatrists use a variety of tools including psychotherapeutic, psychosocial, and biological treatments to care for the individual patients’ mind, body, and brain.

After graduating from medical school, doctors choosing to specialize in psychiatry complete a 4+ year residency where they learn how to diagnose and treat different mental health disorders, how to apply psychotherapy techniques, and how to prescribe various medications. Want to learn more? Check out Choosing a Career in Psychiatry.

What Makes Our Psychiatry Clerkship Special?

It’s been UNM medical students’ top-rated clerkship experience since 2007.
Many students that come through our clerkship find their calling, and their home! Our competitive residency and fellowship programs have numerous UNM School of Medicine alumni continuing to serve New Mexico.
UNM is one of the only places in the country that you, as a medical student, can learn in an independent, academic Psychiatric Emergency room.
As a medical student here, you’ll be trained in the use of Buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opiate use disorders. You also will have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge of treating addiction through clinical experience at UNM’s Addiction and Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) or partnered clinic, Recovery Services of New Mexico (RSNM).

“Psychiatry’s MSE is so welcoming! It embraces empathy, kindness, hard work, and learning. I’ve met patients and clinicians I will remember for the rest of my life. I’m so grateful to have had this experience during medical school and am excited now to be part of the psychiatry team!”

— TIM ABEYTA, MD, Class of 2020

Visiting Student Learning Opportunities

For information about fourth-year medical student away rotations at the UNM Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, visit the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS) on the American Association of Medical Colleges website.

Medical Student Education Leadership

Deborah Dellmore, MD
Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry
Psychiatry Clerkship Director
Ddellmore@salud.unm.edu

Emiliano Valles, MD
Medical Director, UNMH Adult Inpatient Consult Psychiatry
Associate Clerkship Director
Evalles@salud.unm.edu

Caitlin Armijo, MD
Medical Director UPC Outpatient Services
Assistant Clerkship Director
carmijo5@health.unm.edu

Poone Haghani-Tehrani, MD
Co-Chair of the Neuroscience Block
PHaghaniTehrani@salud.unm.edu

Meet the Director

“Bring your curiousity, courage, and compassion as you learn to serve psychiatric patients in a caring and connected University setting.”

-Deborah Dellmore, MD

“Dr. D”

New Mexico True

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Medical Student Education Contact

Psychiatry Clerkship Academic Coordinator

Danielle Jordan

Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences

1 University of New Mexico

MSC09-5030

Albuquerque, NM 87131

DanJordan@salud.unm.edu