General hospital psychiatry
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Psychiatry has several partial identities reflecting its biologic, psychoanalytic, and social subspecialities. It has, however, no encompassing professional identity. ⋯ Psychiatry's identity problems cannot be solved by ignoring them or simply becoming more "medical." Rather, the authors propose a remedy--critical rationality--to help resolve the crisis. Critical rationality requires a discimplined approach to psychiatric knowledge that underscores the necessity of methodologic rigor, practicality, and mid-range theorizing (rationality); and the equal necessity for systematic self-criticism, reform, self-awareness, and attention to the ethical dimensions in teaching, practice, and research (critical).