The bent twig: psychiatry and medical education

The authors note that an increase in psychiatry's involvement in the selection and education of medical school students, which historically has been limited and problematic, would benefit both the discipline and the profession in general. There is evidence indicating the need to pay attention to personal attributes in medical education, particularly in light of the incidence of problems in physicians (e.g., addiction, alcoholism, and suicide) that fall within psychiatry's area of expertise. Active participation by psychiatry in medical education might also help combat the cynicism that seems to develop during training and might contribute to consideration of ethical issues and to the fostering of emotional maturity.