Reasons for the choice to specialize in psychiatry - a retrospective study

Providing the mental health service is one of the main tasks of every state. Its implementation obviously depends on the number of professionally active psychiatrists. The aim of the study was to analyze the motives in the choice of the specialization in psychiatry from the perspective of physicians-practitioners.

An original questionnaire, containing 22 questions, was implemented. The study group was created by recruiting 132 psychiatrists participating in the International Scientific-Training Conference in Wisła, Poland in 2011. The obtained results were analyzed statistically.

The majority of the respondents decided to become psychiatrists during their university studies (43.61%) and just after their studies (37.59%). Only 9.02% knew before starting university, which field of medicine to select, and 8.27% were originally practitioners in a different medical specialization. The factors having the greatest influence on making the decision were: self-esteem (58.64%), practical classes in college and the experience of special types of work with a patient (the percentage for both factors was 33.83%). Prestige (3%) and media influence (3.76%) seem to be the least important factors. 81% of respondents admitted that it was their own independent decision. In the group of those who were influenced by others, the strongest source of advice was the opinion of a partner (4.51%), while the opinion of the family and a well-known specialist in the field turned out to be much less important (the percentage for both factors was 1.5%). 94.73% participants said that they would choose the same specialization once again.

Public perception of psychiatry is still not satisfactory and may have little impact on the popularity of this specialization. The form of teaching at universities is important in the selection process of the specialization. The results of our questionnaire may be a helpful tool to improve the image of psychiatry as an attractive path of professional career, and become an essential argument during the discussion about current problems in psychiatry.