Abstract
Objective
The authors summarize efforts to revitalize psychiatry teaching to medical students at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in advance of a major overhaul of the medical school curriculum.
Methods
This preliminary report chronicles key challenges and the organization of the reform effort within the departments of psychiatry affiliated with the medical school.
Results
Based upon a comprehensive internal review of psychiatric education at the medical school, the HMS Psychiatry Executive Committee and psychiatry faculty concluded that psychiatry teaching was underresourced and lacked cohesion and consistent standards and expectations across clinical sites involved in psychiatry teaching. Through a willingness to identify and vigorously address deficiencies in medical student education within a large decentralized program, psychiatry has earned a reputation as an effective reform agent at the medical school.
Conclusions
Psychiatry education improvements have strengthened our partnership with the medical school as it is undertaking major educational reform of its entire curriculum.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Toteston DC, Adelstein SJ, Carver ST: New Pathways to Medical Education: Learning to Learn at Harvard Medical School. Cambridge, Mass, Harvard University Press, 1994
Thibault GE, Neill JM, Lowenstein DH: The academy at Harvard Medical School: nurturing teaching and stimulating innovation. Acad Med 2003; 78: 673–681
Educating Doctors to Provide High Quality Medical Care: A Vision for Medical Education in the United States. Report of the Ad Hoc Committee of Deans. Association of Medical Colleges. Washington, DC, 2004
The AAMC Project on the Clinical Education of Medical Students. Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC, 2001
Improving Medical Education: Enhancing the Behavioral and Social Science Content of Medical School Curricula. Committee on Behavioral and Social Sciences in Medical School Curricula, Board on Neuroscience and Behavioral Health, Institute of Medicine. Washington, DC, National Academies Press, 2004
The Convergence of Neuroscience, Behavioral Science, Neurology and Psychiatry: Chairman’s Summary of the Conference. Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation, Jan 2005
Sierles FS, Yager J, Weissman SH: Recruitment of U.S. medical graduates into psychiatry: reasons for optimism, sources of concern. Acad Psychiatry 2003; 27: 252–259
Rosenthal RH, Levine RE, Carlson DL, et al: The “shrinking” clerkship: characteristics and length of clerkships in psychiatry undergraduate education. Acad Psychiatry 2005; 29: 47–51
Pangaro L, Bachicha J, Brodkey A, et al: Expectations of and for clerkship directors: a collaborative statement from the alliance for clinical education. Teach and Learn in Medicine 2003; 15: 217–222
Kuhn TW, Cohen MJM, Polan HJ, et al: Standards for psychiatry clerkship directors. Acad Psychiatry 2002; 26: 31–37
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
The authors thank Jane Neill and Drs. Cynthia Kettyle, Jules Dienstag, Ron Arky, George Thibault, Gordon Strewler, Eugene Beresin Malcolm Cox and Joseph Martin Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and numerous valued colleagues within the HMS Psychiatry Departments for their integral role in the reform efforts described in this article.
The authors also thank Heather Adams and Linda Messier for editorial assistance.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alpert, J.E., Schlozman, S., Badaracco, M.A. et al. Getting Our Own House in Order: Improving Psychiatry Education to Medical Students as a Prelude to Medical School Education Reform. Acad Psychiatry 30, 170–173 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.30.2.170
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ap.30.2.170