Teaching medical students about mental handicap

The care and management of mental handicap is a relatively increasing problem, and medical responsibilities for the prevention, detection, treatment and management of mental handicap are undergoing significant changes in emphasis. The present paper examines the current position of undergraduate medical training in this field in medical schools in the United Kingdom and in Eire. Although there are considerable training variations between different schools, the over-all style of presentation is not thought to facilitate appropriate learning in this subject for future doctors. There is a suggestion that medical students themselves would welcome more attention to this field. Greater co-ordination is needed within existing teaching programmes. The appointment of senior academics with multiple departmental attachments and a major commitment to the subject of mental handicap may be a valuable step forward.