Behavioral Science Faculty Research Articles

Embracing a Family Perspective: Essential Roles for Psychology in Primary Care

Primary care settings that provide integrative mental health-medical collaboration offer rich opportunities to enhance the quality of care, improve patient outcome, and highlight the value of psychosocial history taking. The authors illustrate these benefits in a detailed case study of an elderly African American female who presented with depression, hypertension, and “wandering” to a family medicine resident and a behavioral science faculty member in a family medicine residency program. A family genogram served as a psychological assessment technique and helped in the differential diagnosis, treatment planning, and deepening of the physician-patient relationship. Hidden family catastrophic experiences in the past, once identified, helped the patient and providers place the presenting symptoms of non-adherence and tragic losses in the greater context of medical and psychological traumas. The article highlights the benefits of a family system approach with genograms for residency training and enhanced quality of medical care.

Laudation at the Award of the 'Doctor Honoris Causa' of the Faculty of Economics and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Lüneburg to Prof. J. F. Volrad Deneke

The Department of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Luneburg has appointed the 'Doctor honoris causa' to Professor J. F. Volrad Deneke on 7.5.1996. The Laudatio is published in this FFB-Discussion Paper. An appreciation of Professor J. F. Volrad Deneke's scientific services of an individual in societal response would not do justice to his enhancing approach without hints to his non-scientific vitae. Thus, in this Laudatio Deneke's vitae is firstly characterized before his scientific work. The rofessions (Freie Berufe) are the nucleus of Deneke's elucidation with the society, the economy and the government and are discussed with Deneke's concept. The scientific focus then is sketched by Deneke's research and teaching with his contributions to the Sociology of Professions, Health and Social Policy, History of Medicine, Medical Journalism, Medical Sociology as well as Economic and Social Sciences, and Economic Policy.

Development of Behavioral Science Curricula and Faculty in Pharmacy: Some Issues Requiring Attention

Development of Behavioral Science Curricula and Faculty in Pharmacy: Some Issues Requiring Attention

Position paper on the role of behavioral science faculty in family medicine.

Position paper on the role of behavioral science faculty in family medicine.

Medical Student Attitudes and Anticipated Choice of Psychiatric Specialty

Attitudes toward psychiatric disease and the biopsychosocial model were studied to determine their relation to career choice in psychiatry. A cross-sectional sample of 319 undergraduate medical students and 24 Medical Behavioral Science Faculty participated in the study. Differences related to gender, undergraduate major, class, and anticipated medical specialty were found to be related to scores on nine attitudinal factors. Students planning to specialize in primary care and psychiatry shared similar and relatively accepting attitudes toward a biopsychosocial mode of illness, but diverged with respect to attitudes toward psychiatric illness. The implications of this finding with regard to psychiatric education and recruitment are discussed. The data also suggests that first year Medical Behavioral Science curriculum, which focuses on direct student exposure to psychiatrists and other interdisciplinary faculty working with medical patients, can positively influence attitudes.

Distribution of behavioural science faculty in United States medical schools: 1968–1969 and 1978–1979

The Association of American Medical Colleges' faculty profiles were analyzed for 117 U.S. medical schools for the years 1968/1969 and 1978/1979. The growth of behavioral science faculty more than matched that of all medical school faculty (i.e. 78 vs 65%) in full-time tenure-track positions over this 10-year period. Most behavioral science medical school faculty are psychologists. Although still small in numbers, faculty from other disciplines such as anthropology and sociology have gained increasing acceptance, and these 117 medical schools now employ at least 20 full-time economists and 13 who have earned degrees in political science. The growth of behavioral science faculty has been primarily in clinical departments, and those who are associated with independent departments of behavioral science remained virtually static (87 vs 88) over this 10 year period.

Introduction to patient care

Basic science education of physicians has been almost exclusively in the biological fields. Although in recent years many schools have added behavioral sciences to the preclinical curriculum, there has been no agreement as to content or method in this area. An understanding of human behavior is essential for all physicians and is the goal of the course described here. This course, entitled "Introduction to Patient Care," utilizes readings, group presentations, site visits, small-group seminars, and specifically stated educational objectives to present the following topics: health problems of the United States, physicians and other healers, humanistic values--the sick role, and the doctor-patient relationship. The small-group seminars, with behavioral science and clinical faculty, help to guide the student's learning experience toward a scientific analysis of the art of medicine.

Seven days with “all in the family” Case study of the taped TV drama

While it is naturally interesting to read about how a top‐rated television program is put together, the following article is but the latest step in the author's long‐time interest in the television production process. He has previously published “The Case History of a Live Television Drama” (dealing with the “U.S. Steel Hour” in 1956), and “The Case History of a Televised Film Production” (dealing with a 1967 episode of “The Girl from Uncle” series), which, with the following new research on taped TV production, provide a unique view into the network program process over a 17 year period. James E. Lynch is chairman of the department of communication studies at the University of Massachusetts in Am‐herst. Dr. Lynch wishes to express his thanks to the Dean of the Social and Behavioral Science faculty at Massachusetts for special research funds—and to Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin for making it all possible.