The clinical rotation in adult inpatient psychiatry provides the Pharmacy Resident with training and experience in the various aspects of psychiatric pharmacotherapy. The rotation is based primarily in the psychiatric units at the Royal Jubilee Hospital (RJH) Patient Care Centre (PCC). Each ward is divided mostly by age, specialty and/or acuity (6 wards total). Most of these have capacity for 15-16 patients per ward.

There is also Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES) located in the Archie Courtnall Centre within the Emergency Department at the Royal Jubilee Hospital. It is a specialized emergency area that provides intensive assessment and crisis intervention for patients arriving in emergency with psychiatric disorders. The inpatient units are primarily involved in achieving stabilization of patients’ psychiatric conditions. The majority of patients suffer from schizophrenia, mood disorders, and drug-induced psychosis. Stabilization is achieved through a multi-disciplinary team approach, which involves psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, social workers, occupational/recreational therapists, dieticians and the clinical pharmacist. The clinical pharmacist for psychiatry also provides some ambulatory services out of Victoria Mental Health Centre and the Mental Wellness Day Program (both located in Eric Martin Pavilion (EMP) on the RJH campus). Additionally, psychiatric-related consultations from Island Health colleagues and other clinicians (independent of geographic location) are a regular component of the practice.

Therefore, while some rotation time will be spent on attending patient care rounds/huddles and doing initial overviews of new admissions, the nature of this pharmacy service is primarily consultative. Completing requested consults and drug information queries will comprise a bulk of the rotation. The remainder of the time is dedicated to completing assigned projects and/or presentations and participating in therapeutic discussions and/or groups. In order to provide a comprehensive experience, rotation time will also include exposure to non-pharmacological treatment modalities, primarily occurring at the Mental Wellness Day Program. The resident is provided with informal feedback on a daily basis and is formally evaluated at the rotation midpoint and at the end of rotation.