The rise of outpatient treatment as the preferred mental health intervention in the 1940s, and the subsequent deinstitutionalization movement of the 1960s, meant that the hospital care of patients with mental disorders fell out of favor. Until recently, in fact, inpatient care was overseen either by rotating faculty at an academic hospital or by a private psychiatrist who would manage both a clinic and an inpatient caseload.

In The Psychiatric Hospitalist, Michael D. Jibson, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues make a strong case for an alternative model. The only book of its kind on the market, this guide comprehensively describes not only the structure of hospital-based psychiatry but also the qualities and skills needed to succeed in the setting.

From the inpatient unit to consultation-liaison and emergency services, the book leverages vignettes and the expert insights of its contributors to tackle the effects of background and training on a hospitalist career, administrative responsibilities and opportunities for teaching and supervising in a hospital setting, diagnostic and treatment modalities, transitions in care and collaborating across disciplines, legal and ethical issues, and numerous other topics.

Working in a hospital setting means treating acutely agitated—even violent—patients, individuals who have seriously harmed themselves, and those who need to be treated in an inpatient unit to keep them from taking their own lives. It is hardly a career path for the faint of heart! Yet, with the guidance offered in this volume, both novice clinicians and experienced hospitalists will have the tools they need to make an immediate and notable difference in their patients’ lives and flourish professionally in the process.