Research, Research, Research!

Monday, February 1st, 2021 - Sunday, February 7th, 2021

My week in ISM was focused on just doing research towards my original work, especially through my Evidence of Learning. As recommended by my mentor, I decided to do my Evidence of Learning on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, as this is a widely used means of assessing the severity of depression in patients. This was a very interesting scoring system that I got to do research on, as it can be very beneficial to me in my own career. I always wondered how psychiatrists would be able to measure the progress of patients through their use of antidepressants and various therapies, which is where the Hamilton Rating Scale becomes useful. After putting patients on a treatment plan, I can administer this test on a bi-weekly or even tri-weekly basis to see if patients are getting better or if their condition is staying the same. If their condition is getting better, this is very positive news and I will continue with the same treatment plan. However, if the patient is not getting better, even after the use of around 8-10 medications, then I would look into giving the patient Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), which is a subject I have touched on before.

Along with this, I have been creating an agenda in anticipation of my mentor meeting next Wednesday. I plan to update my mentor on my further research on my original work, getting his advice on the research I have compiled and what research I could do to additionally supplement my project. I am also going to do more research on sports psychiatry and ask my mentor questions on this specific field, as he specializes in sports psychiatry. Lastly, I am hoping to get mock cases from my mentor, in which he would give me a few cases of patients with a mental illness and Dr. Uddin would walk me through the process of diagnosing a patient and what goes into this process.