Sharing of specialized knowledge and skills between psychiatrists and emergency physicians

Abstract

It is ideal for psychiatrists and emergency physicians to cooperatively treat acute physical complications in patients with a psychiatric disorder. In actual clinical settings, however, it often happens that that psychiatrists treat physical complications and emergency physicians encounter psychiatric patients, requiring them to learn each other’s field. Therefore, at our hospital, psychiatric and emergency care departments cooperatively respond to psychiatric cases with physical complications. In addition, the two departments exchange personnel and offer joint training. Psychiatrists in the training program experience emergency care at our emergency center while treating the psychiatric symptoms of patients transported to the center. Emergency physicians take a course on Psychiatric Evaluation in Emergency Care. Together with psychiatrists, they act as first responders to actually treat patients with a psychiatric disorder. After continuing this program for some time, we began to see different outcomes in suicide attempt survivors brought to our emergency center. The mission of our hospital is to cultivate personnel who will contribute to clinical coordination between psychiatrists and emergency physicians in the community.