Opinion
Difficulties Teaching Mental Health in Med School: We Need More Answers!
From our previous discussion, Scott (a commentator) proposed a very interesting basis for the disparity of mental health management in contemporary health care: lack of medical training on the subject. Typically, mental health disorders are covered in a short course in the classroom training of medical students. Then, in the hospital, medical students learn clinical aspects of mental health in psychiatry and other rotations (e.g., emergency medicine). Also, general pharmacology for medical students covers anti-psychotics, antidepressants, and anxiolytics (drugs to relieve anxiety) generally across a few lessons. Given the high prevalence of mental illness, certainly many topics in medicine are disproportionately lectured.
It is true, however, that many aspects of mental disorders are uncertain or simply unknown. Academicians in medicine find it difficult to teach these disorders in terms of pathogenesis (the series of disturbances that lead to the given disorder). For instance, what pathological specimens can be shown from a microscope demonstration to illustrate schizophrenia? What lab tests can a clinician order to positively diagnose a bipolar disorder? To date, none! Therefore, it is quite easy to give a list of symptoms, criteria for diagnosis, and medical treatment options, since these are readily available and largely undisputed in the scientific community.
Most will agree that mental health does not gain “the same credibility as heart diseases or cancer” as Scott suggests. It will remain this way until we (1) uncover mechanisms and pathways for the development of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and the plethora of other DSM diagnoses and (2) integrate imaging and biochemical markers. [See my article on schizophrenia proteomics for a detailed discussion on the issue, from the technological and clinical implications to ethical considerations.]
Related Articles
4 Comments
I thought most docs just married social workers or psychologists so they could consult over dinner and figure out what the heck they were dealing with that day in the office. This would follow thinking Hmm, maybe medication isn’t the ONLY solution to this problem, and a look at the brain won’t help the kid’s grades, stop her from cheating, etc. etc.
Trackbacks
- Mar 29, 2007 | I’m Not Just a Biochemical or Gene, I’m a Human Being - World of Psychology
- Apr 25, 2007 | RDoctor Medical
Leave a Reply
Thursday, August 21, 2008
- The Anti-Psychiatry Movement
- Vaccines - A Two-Edged Sword
- Should Doctors Have Guns?
- Extremist Muslim Doctors Do More Than Heal
- Woman Comparable to Men in Domestic Violence: Stereotypes and their Consequences
- The Bipolar Trend
- The Implications of Implanted Chips
- Anti-Smoking Campaign Doesn't Mess Around
- The Biopsychosocial Model of Health & Illness
- Unhinging from Theory: Autism and Opinions
- God And Religion: Is It All In Our Heads?
- The Science of Brain Freeze
- Encephalon, Thirty-Third Edition
- Meditation for Troubled Minds: Can the Mind Heal the Mind?
- Mind-Body: We Want Evidence, Don't We?
- Is War A Psychosis?
- Usually It's Cheaper to Pay Than to Go To Court
- Acknowledging Vaccination Concerns
- Integrating Schizophrenia Management
- Rabies Virus Helps Deliver Drugs into the Brain
- Is Seeing Into the Future More Than an Optical Illusion?
- Malignant Medicine
- Putting an End to Medicare Fraud
- The Gift of Life - Part 1
- Brain Blogging, Thirty-Eight Edition
- The Mental Health of our Military
- Will Money Improve NYC’s Health?
- Culturally Competent Care - Are Health Care Providers Doing Enough?
- Conflicts of Interest Among Physicians II
- How To Talk To Kids About Sex
- Sleep and Consciousness - A Dynamic State of Being
- HIV-Positive? Start Meditating
- Public Health Needs a Shot in the Arm
- Medical Students Can Make A Difference
- What Makes A Good Doctor? - A Patient’s Perspective
- Can this Economic Downturn Lead to Better Psychosocial Health?
- Fall Prevention - Who is Ultimately Responsible?
- Anti-Epileptic Drugs and the Risk of Suicide
- Real Life Medicine in Nepal - The Headache Phenomenon
- The Trans Fat Ban - Is High-Fructose Corn Syrup Next?
- But of course, the correct answer is that both systems compensa...
- Thank you for expressing well ,my sentiments Exactly !!! It's been my experienc...
- Well said.
Medicare Fraud needs to be stopped. Stricter enforcement with s...
- I think that the stem cell treatment is incredible and very important. My father...
- This is a very noble cause and it warms my heart to think of the life you are sa...
- Can you point me in the right direction for where you found out that they are co...
- The war made the disaster for humankind......
- I find this article very interesting - I wasn't aware of the study but can certa...
- Hi,
Your readers should be aware of a new FDA approved treatment for patients...
- I am a parent of two teenagers and a psychotherapist. No matter what, parents s...
- I've been trying to prepare better foods now that I have two little ones, but fi...
- Extremist behavior is not limited just to charismatic leaders. Kamikaze pilots i...
- A related question: how is compliance with the oath ensured. By doctors, no? H...
- In Canada, where all docs are salaried, efforts to add a private tier
to the na...
- You have hit the tip of the iceberg. We have become a society of convenience. ...
- On the other hand...I work with several doc who have great relationship skills, ...
- I had a conversation with a prominent surgeon who told me he could predict post-...
- Who would have thought that our neighborhood could make us fat - but when you ta...
- Jennifer Gibson, PharmD,
As a vaccine apologist , you speak of past accomplis...
- All what "words" we have today or would have tomorrow are coined by human beings...
Advertisement
Sponsored Links
Neuroscience & Neurology
August 20, 2008 | 1 Comment | By Jennifer Gibson, PharmD
Is Seeing Into the Future More Than an Optical Illusion?
More In Neuroscience & Neurology
- When Age Is Just A Number
- Virtual Reality - New Steps in Stroke Rehabilitation
- The Science of Brain Freeze
- Blood Glucose and the Brain: Sugar and Short-Term Memory
- New Technology for Intracranial Aneurysms
Neuroscience & Neurology
Opinion
August 20, 2008 | 0 Comments | By JC, MD
Malignant Medicine
More In Opinion
- The Gift of Life - Part 1
- Medical Students Can Make A Difference
- Can this Economic Downturn Lead to Better Psychosocial Health?
- Real Life Medicine in Nepal - The Headache Phenomenon
- Why Your City Planner Is Making You Fat
Opinion
Psychiatry & Psychology
August 15, 2008 | 2 Comments | By Jennifer Gibson, PharmD
The Mental Health of our Military
More In Psychiatry & Psychology
- Sleep and Consciousness - A Dynamic State of Being
- Finding New Ways to Treat Depression
- Dying To Be A Good Mom - Eating Disorders In Pregnancy
- The State of Mental Healthcare in Prison
- Treating Psychiatric Disorders - Something Smells Fishy


Absolutely TRUE!