Mission
The Department of Psychiatry addresses the psychiatric care needs of Greater Kansas City Metro area, as well as the state of Missouri, through recruiting and maintaining a highly informed faculty capable of providing state-of-the-art clinical care. The Department of Psychiatry faculty is entrusted with the education and training of future psychiatrists and other mental health providers at the cutting edge of knowledge in this rapidly advancing field of Medicine. Through engaging in research and scholarly activity and being in constant touch with recent and influential advances in Psychiatric care, UMKC Department of Psychiatry faculty disseminates this knowledge to all practitioners in this region and assures an ever improving quality of psychiatric care for all Missourians.
Vision
Community engagement is a priority of the Department of Psychiatry. The Department of Psychiatry is the preferred site of training in mental health for graduates of schools of health sciences in Missouri and surrounding states. The treatment, training and research programs are innovative, evidence-based and inclusive of all health care disciplines. The Department recognizes that there are different degrees of “evidence base”. Teaching will adhere to the highest level of “evidence bases” published in widely available and highly regarded peer-reviewed publications. These programs address the mental health needs of a culturally diverse population within the region.
Philosophy
The department believes that psychiatry is an integral part of the field of medicine and is committed to the BioPsychoSocial model of understanding psychiatric illnesses and proving care for patients. Psychiatry is an ever evolving and expanding field. Only by maintaining a constant watchful eye on the advances in the field that the Department of Psychiatry at UMKC can fulfill its promise to the community of educating the best providers and treating patients with exemplary skill. The department seeks to draw upon the body of information and skills which have evolved over time that allow us to provide relief to all categories of suffering. These interventions range from the somatic to the psychological and from pharmacotherapy to psychotherapy. They include addressing such social factors as the family and the community. These interventions must also be sensitive to cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and ethnic diversity.
Objectives
- To provide excellent psychiatric care to all patients in need of such care at Center for Behavioral Medicine, and Truman Medical Center regardless of their ability to pay for this care.
- To treat all patients with empathic respect for their right to safety, dignity, and confidentiality.
- To teach medical students the necessary information and skills to be safe, effective, and empathic physicians.
- To develop the knowledge base and skills of residents who have chosen a career path in psychiatry so that they can be safe, effective, and empathic psychiatrists that are capable of maintaining their excellence in the future through skills learned during their training at UMKC-Department of Psychiatry. Developing “scholarship” skills during the training as well as honing these skills as faculty will assure that the care and teaching provided remain at the cutting edge or even contribute new knowledge to the field of psychiatry.
- To provide mental health professionals and fellow physicians in all fields with continuing education in the field of psychiatry.
Stephen P. Jarvis, M.D.
Chair, Department of Psychiatry