A UCF professor has been honored with a national award for his leadership roles and his “innovative, creative and inspiring approach to medical student education.”
Dr. Martin Klapheke, professor of psychiatry at the UCF College of Medicine, was the winner of the 2013 Innovations Award from the Association of Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry, UCF said. The award recognized Dr. Klapheke’s leadership of a Clinical Simulation Initiative (CSI) — which provides a free national database of online psychiatric teaching cases.
The online modules utilize innovative training methods that are based off of real-life scenarios. A variety of psychiatric cases, including dementia, bipolar disorder, adolescent depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders are used in the scripts allowing students to see how a psychiatrist interviews and interacts with patients and determines a proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
Through real-life encounters, students see examples of the important doctor-patient relationship necessary in treating psychiatric disorders and such learning experiences also help de-stigmatize mental health issues, UCF said.
“Education always helps decrease stigma,” Dr. Klapheke told UCF. “And no matter what specialty students go into, they are going to encounter patients that have psychiatric conditions. For that reason, they need an increased level of skill and confidence.”
