What every psychiatrist should know

Abstract

Psychiatry is the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and study of psychological disorders. The role of the psychiatrist evolves to reflect developments in medicine, science and society. The scientific knowledge base required for the practice of psychiatry changes from generation to generation, but many of the fundamental principles of practice remain essentially unchanged. We attempt here to identify some of these (relatively unchanging) principles and explore their relevance to contemporary psychiatry. In particular, we focus on the work of some of the more reflective physicians of history (e.g. Sir Robert Hutchison, Sir William Osler) in order to identify and interpret principles of medical practice outlined in the 19th and 20th centuries and we explore the relevance of these conceptual frameworks to the practice of psychiatry in the 21st century.