Medical student observations on a career in psychiatry

Interest in training in psychiatry appears to be in decline. To pursue reasons why a career in psychiatry is not regarded as an attractive option for trainees, attitudes of senior Australian medical students were surveyed.

Fifty five medical students from one university were set a question inviting them to detail reasons why doctors might be less likely to train in psychiatry as part of their written examination in psychiatry. Several major themes and salient statements were identified from a qualitative analysis.

Analysis identified several multifaceted factors, including a difficult and pressured work environment and lack of resources due to chronic underfunding; perceived deficiency of personal skills, such as empathy; inadequate income; negative implications of stigma, low prestige, and limited patient gratitude and job satisfaction. These issues, coupled with the widespread belief that the discipline is unscientific and not "real medicine", may contribute to later decisions not to pursue training in psychiatry.

While the framing of the research question was biased towards eliciting negative evaluations of a career in psychiatry, the responses are nonetheless instructive in helping to understand the reasons why potential trainees might be discouraged from the field. If psychiatry is to attract high-quality recruits, there is clearly a need to address stigmatizing attitudes within the medical hierarchy, and provide positive educational experiences for medical students that excite their imagination about a career or even a calling - as against its negative 'job' status.