Medical student attitudes and knowledge about ECT

We report the results of a survey of second-year medical students concerning attitudes and basic knowledge of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). It appeared that there were significant negative biases against ECT in a portion of the group. Forty percent of the students who participated felt that psychiatrists often misused ECT, while 31% actually thought ECT was used to punish violent or uncooperative patients. Few students knew the typical frequency or duration of treatment or even that it was done under general anesthesia. It was interesting that the group describing themselves as highly knowledgeable about psychiatric illness had a greater bias against ECT. Students in the negative group did not differ in the sources of their information about ECT. The most common sources of this information about ECT were movies or college classes. The results document the need for appropriate coverage of ECT in medical school curriculum.