Psychology in Medical Education

Psychology in Medical
Education
John E. Carr, Ph.D., ABPP
University of Washington
Medical Students
(WWAMI)
Primary Care Residents
Psychiatry Residents
Is Psychology Required?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Mind-body interactions
Patient behavior
Physician role and behavior
Physician-patient interactions
Social and cultural issues
Health policy and economics
(Institute of Medicine, 2004)
Role/Rationale
Special Issues
• 1. Teaching medical students requires
linking psychological and biological
sciences, and
• 2. The ability to define the mechanisms of
bio-behavioral interaction
• 3. Interdisciplinary collaboration requires
multidisciplinary knowledge
Opportunities and Barriers
Opportunity for psychology to evolve, to be
the science of bio-behavioral interaction
Barriers include…
-Disciplinary provincialism (anti-biological)
-Institutional Structures (discipline specific)
-Educational inertia (lack of breadth &
evolutionary change in training programs)
Implications for Psychology
• Failure to make psychology relevant to the
biological foundations of medicine will
result in psychology becoming minimally
relevant to medical education and practice
• Interdisciplinary collaboration in medical
research and practice requires
multidisciplinary training in all health care
professions
Preparing for the Future
• Clinical Health psychologists need broader
multidisciplinary training, e.g.
– Behavioral Neurosciences
– Social Neurosciences
– Psychoneuroindocrinology
– Behavioral genetics
– Evolutionary Psychology
Role for APA
• Before APA can foster public
understanding of Psychology’s importance
in medicine, we must foster our own
understanding of that relevance
• We must be able to demonstrate our
knowledge of the links between
psychological and medical science