To the Editor: Review of undergraduate mental health education is timely, given the growing disease burden of mental disorders and the need to better equip doctors for their central role in treatment. Curricula should prepare all doctors with competencies in recognising and treating mental health problems,1 because these occur frequently in patients across all branches of medicine, leading to poorer outcomes.2 Curricula should also prepare a minority of doctors for specialist psychiatry training.1
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- 1. Australian Medical Education Study. What makes for success in medical education? Synthesis report. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2008.
- 2. Walton H, Gelder M. Core curriculum in psychiatry for medical students. Med Educ 1999; 33: 204-211.
- 3. Sawyer MG, Giesen F, Walter G. Child psychiatry curricula in undergraduate medical education. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2008; 47: 139-147.
- 4. Olesen J, Leonardi M. The burden of brain diseases in Europe. Eur J Neurol 2003; 10: 471-477.
- 5. Wittchen HU, Jacobi F. Size and burden of mental disorders in Europe — a critical review and appraisal of 27 studies. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2005; 15: 357-376.
- 6. O’Connor DW, Clarke DM, Presnell I. How is psychiatry taught to Australian and New Zealand medical students? Aust N Z J Psychiatry 1999; 33: 47-52.
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