Pearls and Prep

Pearls and Prep: Psychiatric Case Studies is the go-to podcast for psychiatric nurse practitioner students, psych residents, clinicians, and anyone fascinated by the human mind. Whether you’re prepping for boards, sharpening your diagnostic skills, or just curious about what psychiatry looks like behind the scenes, this show delivers clinical gold in every episode.

🎯 What You’ll Learn:
Each episode walks you through real-world psychiatric case studies — from initial chart review to final treatment plan — using a structured, digestible, and evidence-based approach. You'll get:

🩺 Psychiatric differential diagnosis deep-dives

💊 Psychopharmacology breakdowns with receptor targets, MOA, half-lives, and pearls for side effect management

📖 DSM-5-TR criteria reviews, clearly explained and clinically applied

⚖️ Rule-outs and red flags, with rationale

🧠 Cognitive frameworks for organizing your clinical thinking

📚 Citations and recent research from PubMed and clinical trials

😄 Engaging, story-based cases with humor, humility, and real-life complexity

Each case is crafted to model what clinical decision-making looks like in the real world: nuanced, flexible, and guided by both science and soul. You’ll hear about everything from bipolar depression and PTSD to OCD, ADHD, panic disorder, substance use, and treatment-resistant depression — all through the lens of compassionate, competent care.

🧠 Why This Podcast?
There are lots of psych podcasts, but Pearls and Prep is different. It’s not just lectures or interviews — it’s clinical rehearsal meets storytelling. Each episode is a teaching round in audio form, designed to help you think like a psych NP or psychiatrist. The cases are quirky, realistic, and designed to leave you with:

💡 High-yield memory hooks

📊 Clinical decision-making tools

📌 Ready-to-use documentation phrases

🧾 Smart screening questions

🧪 Lab interpretation tips for psychiatry

⚕️ First-line treatment recommendations based on guidelines and nuance

Perfect for students prepping for ANCC or AANP boards, for seasoned clinicians wanting to refresh their diagnostic edge, or for preceptors looking to sharpen their teaching game.