Psychologists in medical schools.

Abstract

I N late 1966, the Education and Training Boardof APA appointed a Committee on Psychology in Medical Schools. The intent of the Board was to make a broad study of the development of psychology in professional schools, starting with an examination of psychology in medical schools and then moving on to psychology in other settings. The Board, in view of its mission, was interested in medical schools as training resources, and in possibly identifying new training models; however, the Board's concern extended beyond the educational sphere to questions of the utilization of psychologists within medical schools. There were still other questions of interest to the Board: How are psychologists faring as they live their lives "away from home base"? Might the information gained from this survey be useful to psychologists in medical schools by suggesting ways in which their own situations might be improved? What suggestions about organizational arrangements for psychology may be made to administrators setting up new medical schools? Against the serious and growing need for personnel trained at the subdoctoral level, might training resources for such personnel be identified in medical school settings? 1 The study reported here is the product of the work of the Committee on Psychology in Medical Schools, appointed by the Education and Training Board of APA in late 1966. At the time it was constituted, the Committee consisted of Ivan N. Mensh, Louis L. McQuitty, and Herman A. Witkin (Chairman). Louis D. Cohen later joined the Committee. McQuitty, who played an active role in organizing the survey, left the Committee before the study was completed, and Cohen was on sabbatical leave in Europe at the time this report was written, so they did not take part in its preparation.2 Requests for reprints of this article or for copies of the Committee's full report to the Education and Training Board should be directed to

Training in medical psychology: A survey of graduate and internship training programs.

“…The results are encouraging because they suggest that (a) it is unlikely that most present-day trainees in clinical psychology will complete the requirements for a doctorate degree without being partially exposed to issues in medical psychology either at the didactic or experiential level and (b) there should indeed be an adequate number of new psychologists prepared in advance for employment in medical schools or other types of medical settings. The latter point is especially important, since the demand for such persons appears to be steadily increasing (Gentry & Matarazzo, 1981) rather than stabilizing or decreasing, as was previously thought to be the case (Witkin, Mensh, & Gates, 1972).…”

Biological Foundations of Behavior: Implications for Counseling

“…4 The expanding need for and occurrence of counselors and psychologists in medical and health settings suggest that counselors should have a basic knowledge of biological mechanisms of human behavior (Allen, 1977;Witkin, Mensh, & Cates, 1972). For example, Allen's (1977) article "Physical Health: An Expanding Horizon for Counselors" strongly recommends a role for the counselor in preventing diseases caused by psychological stress, training medical staff in interpersonal skills, helping patients deal with pain related to their disease or injury, and improving patient health through biofeedback, relaxation techniques, and selftalk.…”

Health care psychology and graduate education.

“…Ninety percent of psychologists employed in medical schools in 1972 have received their PhD since 1950. Even departments seemingly unrelated to psychology, such as anatomy, obstetrics, and otolaryngology, are currently hiring psychologists as staff members (Witkin, Mensh, & Gates, 1972). Because graduate students need to be prepared for the type of work they may one day be performing and because health care psychology appears to be one of the faster growing major areas in hiring of clinical psychologists, there is a practical demand that graduate education include some preparation for careers in health care psychology.…”

“…In addition to the programs at Northwestern and California and the proposed Minnesota program, there are four other PhD programs centered at medical schools, a joint MD-PhD program, and some modified training in health care psychology at such PsyD. programs as that of the University of Illinois (Witkin et al, 1972).…”