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Psychologists’ Contributions to Medical Education and Interprofessional Education in Medical Schools

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Abstract

Recognition of the importance of behavioral and psychological phenomena has grown. Patients and physicians are receptive to psychological insights and processes in health and healthcare. Psychologists serve in diverse roles in medical schools, spanning activities such as didactics, rounds, precepting, supervising, mentoring, participating in educational projects, directing courses, and serving on educational committees. They address multiple content areas fundamental to medicine. Their participation in medical education and professional development activities for faculty are well-regarded. As healthcare becomes more interprofessional, with services delivered via interprofessional teams, opportunities for psychologists to contribute to, and play leadership roles in, interprofessional education (IPE) are expanding. It is critical that psychologists seize them. This article reviews psychologists’ historic roles in medical education and provides a snapshot of their educational, faculty development, and IPE activities based on the 2017 survey of members of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers and their colleagues.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Dr. Lisa Ramirez Shah of the Department of Psychiatry at MetroHealth and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine for her contributions to the poster presented at the 2019 APAHC conference that addressed these topics. They also acknowledge the efforts of Laura Daniels, Ph.D. of the Virginia Tech Carilion Department of Family & Community Medicine related to the survey design, implementation, and analysis.

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Drs. WR, WW, and BH with others’ contributions acknowledged. The first draft of the manuscript was written by WR and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to William N. Robiner.

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William N. Robiner, Barry A. Hong, Wendy Ward have no financial relationships have no conflict of interest to disclose. The research was not sponsored. The authors have full control of all primary data and would agree to allow the journal to review the data if requested.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

The project was approved by the Institutional Review Board at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and participants’ voluntary informed consent was incorporated in the invitation for them to participate in the online survey. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Robiner, W.N., Hong, B.A. & Ward, W. Psychologists’ Contributions to Medical Education and Interprofessional Education in Medical Schools. J Clin Psychol Med Settings 28, 666–678 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-020-09730-8

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