Does clinical posting in psychiatry contribute to changing medical interns' attitude towards psychiatry?

摘要

The aims and objectives of the present study were (i) to assess the medical interns' attitude towards psychiatry, (ii) to ascertain the impact of a clinical psychiatry posting on this attitude and (iii) to gain an understanding of the process of choosing psychiatry as a future professional career.Using a longitudinal design, a questionnaire adapted by Balon et al. (1999) based on Nielsen and Eaton (1981) was administered to the interns before and after completing their training in psychiatry to explore their attitude in the below mentioned six domains: overall merits of psychiatry, efficacy, role definition and functioning of psychiatrists, possible abuse and social criticism, career and personal reward and specific medical school factors. Interns participating in the study were asked to complete the same questionnaire before and after completion of their psychiatry training in the year 2010 at Silchar Medical College Hospital, Silchar, Assam, India. A total of 41 interns participated in the study which included 28 (68.29%) males and 13 (31.71%) females. The mean age was 24 years (SD = 1.095). There were no drop-outs.