Medical Education and The Role of Psychiatry

To the Editor:—  A great deal is said and written about the current practices in the psychiatric training of physicians. Actually, the medical schools in the various states differ widely in the effectiveness of their training and some are surprisingly exiguous in their approach to the problem. As psychiatric consultants for the Social Security Administration, we reviewed thousands of medical and psychiatric reports over a period of seven years. Our experience indicates that there is a widespread inconsistency and inadequacy in the orientation not only of psychiatrists but also of physicians who submit these reports. Titmus said, "At the present time, too many family doctors are unable, or unwilling to cope with mental illness." Even in the schools which provide an adequate orientation (I avoid the use of the terms training or education advisedly), the major portion of medical students go out to their various professional activities without any real