David Collier, MD, PhD, Ronald M. Perkin, MD, MA, and Joseph R. Zanga, MD
The legal definitions of child neglect and child abuse are not as clear cut when faced with the issue of whether parents should be held responsible for failing to follow weight-loss plans for a morbidly obese child.
Physicians have an obligation to report parents to the local Child Protective Services if they suspect that the parents are using corporal punishment as a form of discipline.
Training in the humanities helps to provide psychiatrists with an insight into the human condition, as represented in literature, film, and other media forms.
Physicians need to take an active role in improving the genetic literacy of the general population and also push for public health policies that make new genetic tools available to everyone.