A conceptual model for educating primary care providers in the diagnosis and treatment of depression.

Primary care physicians consistently have been found to under-recognize or misdiagnose depressive disorders. However, it remains unclear whether diagnostic accuracy is related to the physician's knowledge base, interviewing skills and behavior, problem solving ability, and/or attitudes towards these disorders. As strategies are contemplated for improving physician recognition of depression, it is clear that psychiatric education must be guided by a comprehensive conceptual model. Such a model is proposed based upon the several educational domains intrinsic to the mastery of clinical diagnosis.