Hostname: page-component-5f745c7db-rgzdr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-06T14:16:28.375Z Has data issue: true hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Attitudes to psychiatry in doctors at the end of their first post-graduate year: two-year follow-up of a cohort of medical students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

K. Sivakumar ,
Greg Wilkinson ,
Brian K. Toone  and
Steven Greer
K. Sivakumar
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital Medical School, and the General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Greg Wilkinson*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital Medical School, and the General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Brian K. Toone
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital Medical School, and the General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
Steven Greer
Affiliation:
Department of Psychological Medicine, King's College Hospital Medical School, and the General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr Greg wilkinson, General Practice Research Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, Dc Crespigny Park, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Synopsis

The significantly favourable changes in medical students' general attitudes to psychiatry which we found after their 8-week clerkship in psychiatry and at the end of their clinical curriculum were not maintained at the end of their first post-graduate year. Three of their specific attitudes to psychiatry changed significantly in an unfavourable direction over this 2-year period. Our findings suggest that, while favourable changes in students' specific attitudes to psychiatry can be found following a clerkship, these attitudes do not seem to endure and, in some cases, they later become less favourable. The results are discussed with reference to the relationships between undergraduate medical training in psychiatry, attitudes to psychiatry, and subsequent career choice, particularly general practice.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 16 , Issue 2 , May 1986 , pp. 457 - 460
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brook, P. (1983). Who's for psychiatry? United Kingdom medical schools and career choice of psychiatry 1961–1975. British Journal of Psychiatry 142, 361–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burra, P., Kalin, R., Leichner, P., Waldron, J. J., Handforth, J. R., Jarriett, F. J. & Amara, A. B. (1982). The ATP-30–a scale for measuring medical students' attitudes to psychiatry. Medical Education 16, 31–38.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Langsley, D. G. (1980). Viewpoint: a commentary by APA's president. Psychiatric News 15 (21), 6.Google Scholar
Lesser, A. L. (1983). Is training in psychiatry relevant for general practice? Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners 33, 617–618.Google ScholarPubMed
Miller, S. I., Lenkowski, L. D. & Weinstein, D. (1979). Enduring attitude change in medical students. Journal of Psychiatric Education 3, 171–179.Google Scholar
Parkhouse, J., Campbell, M. G. & Phillips, P. R. (1981). Career preferences of doctors qualifying in the United Kingdom in 1979. Health Trends 13, 103–105.Google ScholarPubMed
Parkhouse, J., Campbell, M. G. & Parkhouse, H. F. (1983). Career preferences of doctors qualifying in 1974–1980: a comparison of pre-registration findings. Health Trends 15, 29–35.Google ScholarPubMed
Scher, M. E., Carline, J. D. & Murray, J. A. (1983). Specialization in psychiatry: what determines the medical student's choice pro or con? Comprehensive Psychiatry 24, 459–468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Walton, H. J. (1969). Personality correlates of a career interest in psychiatry. British Journal of Psychiatry 115, 211–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilkinson, D. G., Greer, S. & Toone, B. K. (1983 a). Medical students' attitudes to psychiatry. Psychological Medicine 13, 185–192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilkinson, D. G., Toone, B. K. & Greer, S. (1983 b). Medical students' attitudes to psychiatry at the end of the clinical curriculum. Psychological Medicine 13, 655–658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, J. L & Hallet, J. (1985). Students' attitudes toward career choice: a family practice perspective. Journal of Medical Education 60, 56–58.Google ScholarPubMed