Can the primary care physician be better trained in the psychosocial dimensions of patient care?

Our modern health care system has tended to emphasize technological competence and subspecialization. The primary care internist/family physician has recieved limited training in the behavioral aspects of medicine and, resultingly, is less able to obtain and apply the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively help the patient handle those mutually interacting somatic, phychological and sociological dimensions of his illness. Through the use of selected case histories the author has attempted to illustrate how utilization of these skills, obtained during a supervised fellowship program, leads to psychological growth and better understanding of his role as physician. Ultimately this effects clinical improvement in his medical patients with longstanding difficulties.