Psychiatry Pharmacology Resources

[hopefulscribe2]

Hello everyone,

I am an incoming PGY-1 psych resident and I wanted to learn about some of the best sources for psychiatry pharmacology. I have the Stahl's prescriber's guide but while it is certainly comprehensive, I feel that I would like a condensed version as well. For example, it would be helpful to learn about the highlights of certain drugs such as "Celexa is one of the SNRIs that prolong the QT the most" or "Haldol and Geodon can prolong the QT the most out of antipsychotics. Is there such a resource where it mostly spotlights these details? Or if someone is willing, I would love to see other psychiatrists' pharmacology notes! Thank you.

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[vanfanal]

I don’t think the stahl book is useful at all… unless you’re looking to see all the imaginative shapes and colours one could use to depict receptors.

I recommend The Maudsley Prescribing Guidelines in Psychiatry.

 

[calvnandhobbs68]

Haven't actually gotten this book myself but the newer Carlat book supposedly has a lot of the more practical day to day stuff that you're referencing:

Prescribing Psychotropics: From Drug Interactions to Pharmacogenetics (2022)

Teaches drug pharmacokinetics and everyday clinical practice.

www.thecarlatreport.com

 

[ObsequiousAplomb]

So, uh, both of those statements in quotation marks are pretty off the mark.

Never heard of anyone prior to you refer to Celexa as an SNRI.

While Geodon has long prolongation, Haldol is by no means the second or even fifth most QT prolonging.

So try reading basic psychopharmacology textbooks first. Literally any will do, they'll correct those incorrect statements you already learned somewhere.

 

[Celexa]

It's subscription but I love this website/email list: Tips, Tools, and Education for Mental Health Clinicians - Simple and Practical Mental Health

Extremely clinically useful.

 

[TheRightMedication]

I think Stahl is a great start and committing to grinding through that book as a PGY-1 can give you a solid knowledge base and confidence.

Vanfanal's jab at Stahls is well taken, however - you can't practice medicine with cartoon drawings, you will then have to proceed to other books to mature as a clinician.

Unfortunately, when you read during training, quantity has an important quality. When you get a thousand + pages behind you, the combination of all the editorial tones, all the ways people talk about evidence and practice, will get you to a place where you are competent.

Once you're there you can say things like "I don't know, I have to look that up" confidently because you have a sense for what's mandatory to know, what's open to debate, and what would belie ignorance if you didn't say you had to look it up.

Just gotta read a ton. No way around it. Good on ya for getting a start now.

 

[Merovinge]

So, uh, both of those statements in quotation marks are pretty off the mark.

Never heard of anyone prior to you refer to Celexa as an SNRI.

While Geodon has long prolongation, Haldol is by no means the second or even fifth most QT prolonging.

So try reading basic psychopharmacology textbooks first. Literally any will do, they'll correct those incorrect statements you already learned somewhere.

It's the IV formulation that makes people confused by this, understandable mistake given torsades questions popping up so much in our standardized testing.