Medical Student Education in State Psychiatric Hospitals: A Survey of US State Hospitals

State hospitals may be underutilized in medical education. US state psychiatric hospitals were surveyed on current and potential psychiatry medical student education.

A 10-item questionnaire, with multiple response formats, was sent to identified hospitals in late 2012.

Ninety-seven of 221 hospitals contacted responded. Fifty-three (55%) reported current medical student education programs, including 27 clinical clerkship rotations. Education and training in other disciplines was prevalent in hospitals both with and without medical students. The large majority of responders expressed enthusiasm about medical education. The most frequent reported barrier to new programs was geographic distance from the school. Limited resources were limiting factors for hospitals with and without current programs.

Only a minority of US state hospitals may be involved in medical student education. While barriers such as geographic distance may be difficult to overcome, responses suggest opportunities for expanding medical education in the state psychiatric hospitals.