Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Project-Based Learning Guidelines for Health Sciences Students: An Analysis with Data Mining and Qualitative Techniques
Published on: December 9, 2022
Teaching undergraduate psychiatry in primary care: the impact on student learning and attitudes
Kate Walters1, Peter Raven, Joe Rosenthal
1Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, Royal Free and University College Medical School, Royal Free Campus, Rowland Hill Street, London NW3 2PF, UK. k.walters@pcps.ucl.ac.uk
Objective:
To explore the impact of undergraduate psychiatry placements in primary care settings on students' learning and attitudes to mental illness.
Design:
Questionnaire survey and qualitative in-depth interviews.
Setting:
A primary care-based psychiatry undergraduate teaching programme at Royal Free and University College Medical School, London.
Participants:
A total of 145/183 (79.2%) students attending the primary care-based programme over 2 academic years completed a questionnaire survey. In-depth interviews were conducted with 14 students, 12 general practitioner (GP) tutors and 20 patients participating in the course.
Results:
In the questionnaire survey, 121/144 (84.0%) students valued the primary care-based teaching highly. In total, 87/139 (62.6%) students felt their attitudes to mental illness had changed as a result of the course. In-depth interviews demonstrated 4 key benefits of the teaching programme: increasing breadth of experience, understanding the patients' experience, learning about mental illness from a GP's perspective and changing students' attitudes towards mental illness. The students' attitudinal shift comprised 2 main dimensions; 'normalisation' of mental illness and increased empathy.
Conclusions:
Learning psychiatry in primary care settings offers students a broader experience of a range of patients than in hospital settings and encourages a 'person-centred' approach, which in turn can have a positive impact on their attitudes to mental illness, reducing stereotyping and increasing empathy.
Related Concept Videos
Patient-centered Care
Treatment Strategies for Psychological Disorders
Psychological therapies focus on modifying emotions, thoughts, and behaviors through talking, interpreting, listening, rewarding, challenging, and modeling. Clinical psychologists, counselors, and social workers commonly practice psychotherapy. Clinical...
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
Nursing Process for Patient and Caregiver Teaching II: Planning and Implementation
Nursing Process for Patient and Caregiver Teaching I: Assessment and Diagnosis
It is critical to determine the patient's learning needs during the assessment. Determination of learning needs compounds data from the...
Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...