Attitudes of physicians in a general hospital towards psychiatric consultation service

The attitudes of 77 physicians in a general university hospital towards the psychiatric consultation service were studied using a questionnaire. The main findings were that the physicians found the psychiatric consultation helpful and not too difficult to obtain. Many of them wanted regular participation of the psychiatrist in the routine of their departments and in case conferences. The findings indicate that the expectations of the departments of surgery are for a consultation service and those of medicine for liaison service. The discrepancy between the positive attitudes of the physicians and the dissatisfaction of the consultants strongly suggest that emotional problems of the consultant, i.e. ambivalence about their profession, is the source of the common tension between psychiatric consultant and other physicians.