Medical training in psychiatry residency. A proposed curriculum

During the coming decades, psychiatrists will be asked to participate to a greater extent in the physical evaluation and treatment of patients with behavioral or emotional problems. Despite the high frequency with which psychiatric symptoms are caused or exacerbated by organic disease, psychiatrists have been reluctant, and in some ways, even discouraged to include physical assessments. Psychoanalysis and concerns about boundary issues have influenced psychiatrists to cede physical assessment and physical illness to other physicians. To help overcome these barriers to improved care of psychiatric patients, a curriculum is proposed for psychiatry residents. It will allow them to better use their medical backgrounds while increasing their contributions as mental health specialists.