title: Highlights from my tour as a temporary psychiatrist in a VA mental health outpatient clinic.
abstract: As a temporary psychiatrist in a Veterans Affairs mental health outpatient clinic, the author notes that he was given enough time (an hour for each first visit with a new-to-the-doctor patient) to review records, reflect, and identify new windows of opportunity for patients. He also found that, as a temporary psychiatrist, it was easier to "think outside the box" and identify issues that might previously have been missed. A series of ten cases is presented to illustrate these points.
authors.affiliation: American Psychiatric Association, USA. climolawrence@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Lawrence H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Climo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology*