Fundamentals of Psychiatry (An Undergraduate Text)

Undergraduate psychiatry courses have not been given adequate attention in most medical and paramedical schools in Nigeria. In addition, there is no clearly defined curriculum for undergraduate psychiatry courses as at present. Most of the newly qualified medical practitioners after their undergraduate training may not be exposed again to postgraduate training in psychiatry throughout the period of their medical practice. In this regard, undergraduate medical and paramedical students need to be provided with enough information and clinical exposure to equip them with the necessary skills for recognizing psychiatric disorders early enough and take the appropriate step of treatment or referral. The need to fulfil the above objective gave birth to this book. Fundamentals of Psychiatry does not lay claim to exhaustive discussion of various aspects of psychiatric disorders. It is rather an introductory text written for undergraduate students. However, the author believes the book will be useful to medical practitioners in other sub-specialities of medicine who are interested in catching a glimpse into the sub-specialty of psychiatry. Bakare, 2011