Psychology teaching in Russian medical academies

Three stages of the introduction of psychology can be marked out in the curriculum of medical students.

1. Psychology teaching (without pedagogy) was held within the limits of psychiatry’s chairs (before the 90-s of the XX-th century) the main peculiarities of that stage were: the title was “Medical psychology”, volume of the work was 24 hours; teaching was held by psychiatrists; teaching was kept in the senior courses; teaching was held at the clinic basis. Lecturers-psychologists were concentrated at the chairs of medical academies during that period. The chairs provided further training of lecturers of higher institutes of medical learning.

Psychology teaching (with pedagogy in the same course of study) was held as the independent branch of science (the 90-s of the XX-th century). Medical academies of Russia were told (Federal Educational Standard) to introduce the teaching of the new discipline: “Psychological and didactic principles of physician’s practice”. It was made within the bounds of the tendency for improving humanities at the higher institutes of medical learning.

The main principles of that stage were: volume of teaching was increased (92 hours); teaching was concentrated in the initial courses of study (the 2-nd year of study); psychology elective courses appeared; the absence of “Medical psychology” in the senior courses of study provoked critical recalls; the problem of skilled scientific personnel became actual.

Psychology teaching (with pedagogy in the same course) was adopted as the independent course (92 hours), but with the following advice: one third of hours should be combined with teaching at the psychiatry chair (it is modern standard, recommended at the beginning of the XXI–st century).

The main peculiarities of this stage were:
- the problem of skilled scientific personnel became sharp (very few lecturers, specialized in clinical psychology working at the psychiatry chairs only appeared in medical academies there was lack of scientific literature on the proper subject ( the basic task was to keep connections between senior and junior students within the limits of the single discipline) the appearance of medical faculties at the universities intensified the influence of professional psychologists on the psychology teaching in medicine.