Psychiatry shares with the rest of medicine all basic goals,
assumptions, and approaches as well as many techniques. Any apparent
"differences in approach" between psychiatry and general medicine arise
from a confusion between the essentials and the specialized techniques and
procedures developed in psychiatry. The educational task of psychiatry--to
integrate relevant knowledge and skills from the behavioral sciences with
the biological sciences and to operationalize a comprehensive approach to
patient care--can be accomplished by the general psychiatrist through
consultation and collaborative care of patients.
Abstract Teaser