| Abstract: | Greenfield's excellent appraisal (Amer. Psychologist, 1960, 15, 624-625) of the role of clinical psychology in medical education deserves commendation. Despite its brevity, it offers a great deal. In fact, it reads so well and makes such good sense, I was hopeful, as I neared the end, that Greenfield might have an answer to the question he raises implicitly: "What is the unique role of psychology in medical education?" To be sure, this question has plagued the now respectable number of psychologists in medical schools for some time. In my view, the clinical psychologist's "identity as psychologist" is related to his having a PhD which, in turn, is related to his unique contribution to a medical school. To me, the uniqueness is his research role. He may be a teacher, clinician, administrator, jack-of-all-trades. But, to his colleagues, though not always to himself, he is unique because he (supposedly) is prepared as an investigator in human behavior. To our medical school colleagues in the basic sciences (and also to others) the PhD degree represents scholarship, scientific background, and preparation for research. The question must remain: "What is psychology's unique role in medical education?" It happens that the greatest number of psychologists in medical schools are clinical psychologists. But, to look for the answer to the question in terms of the needs and interests of the clinician would be taking a far more narrow view of the problem than it deserves. I think Greenfield would agree. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
