"Rational" hospital psychiatry.

When, in 1974, the authors chose to describe their approach to hospital psychiatry as "rational", they were departing from the prevailing psychiatric belief that treatment should be based on theories of behavior. Instead, the authors advocated that rational treatments should be based on empirical findings and on pragmatic considerations, a view which a decade later has found its way into mainstream American psychiatry.

Student attitude changes during "psychiatric medicine" clerkships.

Whether psychiatrists can provide effective training of medical students in the psychosocial aspects of patient care should be questioned seriously in view of numerous reports showing that psychiatric education of student physicians had often been inadequate and unpopular. Consequently, objective evidence of psychiatry's ability to enhance knowledge, and especially to change attitudes, is needed in order to substantiate its claim to a significant role in the psychosocial training of doctors. A survey of 111 medical students who completed a "Psychiatric Medicine" clerkship reveals that they developed more favorable attitudes toward psychiatry and psychiatrists, as well as toward the treatability and likability of psychiatric patients. The meaning and implications of these findings are discussed.

Mood and affect: a semantic confusion.

Although semantic clarity is a cornerstone of scientific psychiatry, psychiatrists often use technical words with the false assumption that their meanings are clear. The common use of the terms "mood" and "affect" illustrates this point. The authors attempt to show how unclear definitions of these words have led to confusion and how they could be more clearly understood by careful semantic and phenomenologic analysis.

Telecommunications in psychiatry.

Because technological innovations will enable geographic proximity to be replaced eventually by electronic proximity, telecommunication systems could play a substantial role in psychiatry's future. As a result, the uses, advantages, and limitations of interactive television and videotelephones for psychiatric service and training are discussed.

Forecasting and medical education.

The ability to render more accurate predictions of the future will enable medical educators and administrators to make more advantageous policy and program decisions. Modern forecasting techniques and criteria to evaluate prognostic endeavors are described. Examples of how these methods can be applied to medical education are provided.