Getting Our Own House in Order: Improving Psychiatry Education to Medical Students as a Prelude to Medical School Education Reform

Objective The authors summarize efforts to revitalize psychiatry teaching to medical students at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in advance of a major overhaul of the medical school curriculum. Methods This preliminary report chronicles key challenges and the organization of the reform effort within the departments of psychiatry affiliated with the medical school. Results Based upon a comprehensive internal review of psychiatric education at the medical school, the HMS Psychiatry Executive Committee and psychiatry faculty concluded that psychiatry teaching was underresourced and lacked cohesion and consistent standards and expectations across clinical sites involved in psychiatry teaching. Through a willingness to identify and vigorously address deficiencies in medical student education within a large decentralized program, psychiatry has earned a reputation as an effective reform agent at the medical school. Conclusions Psychiatry education improvements have strengthened our partnership with the medical school as it is undertaking major educational reform of its entire curriculum.