VCOM - Virginia 2016 Yearbook

Psychiatry

Yasmin Bholat, National Liaison; Jennifer L. Ciuchta, President; Asish K. Gulati, Vice President; L. Alex Ambrose, Secretary; Abby Russell, Treasurer

T he Psychiatry Student Organization (PSYCH) offers members the opportunity to hear professional clinicians speak about different healthcare experiences, which can help students grow and become better physicians. The organization also stays involved in the community by educating and sharing facts on how and when to seek treatment. ■ ■ PsychSIGN worked with Jana MacKercher, DO, VCOM class of 2015, who matched in Psychiatry, to provide students a question and answer session about rotations and what to expect when applying for residency. ■ ■ PsychSIGN hosted James Reinhard, MD, Medical

Director/Associate Director for Psychiatry at Cook Counseling Center at Virginia Tech, in a guest lecture on Violence and Mental Illness. Students learned about opportunities in the field of Forensic Psychiatry and risk factors and characteristics associated with increased violence. ■ ■ Students from PsychSIGN attended the Psychiatric Society of Virginia Meeting in the Fall of 2015 in Chantilly, Virginia. There they learned about current policies and challenges regarding access and integrating psychiatric/ behavioral health with medical care in Virginia. ■ ■ PsychSIGN hosted the Mr. VCOM Talent Competition

at Virginia Tech to raise awareness about mental illness and funds for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) chapter in Roanoke, Virginia. The VCOM student body and faculty, representatives from NAMI, and students from the pre-SOMA group at Virginia Tech attended the event where VCOM first- and second-year students competed in categories such as Best Scrubs, Talent, Formal Wear, and Interview Question.

■ ■ The organization held numerous social events

including a hike to Dragon’s Tooth during welcome week, a Laser tag competition for VCOM Olympics, and film screenings regarding mental health topics.

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