Short term training of medical officers in menal health

As specialist services are insufficient to meet the needs of the people, especially in rural areas, the training of medical and paramedical health staff through short courses in psychiatry has been recommended in the National Mental Health Program. A two week orientation course in mental health has been recommended for general physicians, including those working at the dispensary level. This paper focuses on the experience of imparting such training to 91 medical officers in a general hospital psychiatric unit.