The medium and the message: development of videotapes for teaching psychiatry.

The author examines the issues surrounding the development and use of videotapes to teach psychiatry. She describes the special capabilities of videotaped material as well as how videotapes are produced; the structure of videotapes that use feedback techniques; the different ways medical students, psychiatric students, and experienced clinicians respond to videotapes; the special problems involved with teaching nonpsychiatric medical students about psychiatry; and the use of videotaped materials for patients and the public. She concludes that the use of videotapes to teach psychiatry, especially to teach the public, is an important area for development by psychiatrists.