Medical students' attitude towards psychiatry

The attitudes of medical students are important as they influence recruitment to psychiatry. In order to better understand the attitudes of medical students towards psychiatry and the impact of psychiatric clerkship, the authors administered a questionnaire eliciting information regarding demographic data, attitudes and career choices to third year medical students of the University of Ottawa, at the beginning and end of their four week psychiatric clerkship. The data suggests that the students found their clerkship experience valuable and rewarding and expressed an interest in knowing more about psychiatry. The students' perception of the various aspects of their clinical practice of psychiatry became more positive after the clerkship. The authors have identified the positive and negative experiences the students had during their clerkship and postulate that the change in attitude is directly due to their clerkship experience.