[How can the profession of psychiatry become attractive again?]

The issue of psychiatric workforce renewal is no longer merely a human resource problem; it lies at the intersection of professional identity, training structure, and the organizational logic of the healthcare system. International medical education literature describes professional identity formation as a gradual process of socialization in which the novice physician progresses from performing professional tasks to internalizing the vocation itself. This process is strongly influenced by the clinical learning environment, the presence of role models, structured reflection, the gradual transfer of responsibility, psychological safety, and whether the resident is truly able to practice the chosen specialty. A specific challenge in Hungarian psychiatry is that the process of becoming a psychiatrist is often constrained by systemic pressures that lead to blurred professional boundaries, distortion of training, increased risks to patient safety, and erosion of professional self-identity. The aim of this paper is to examine the educational and organizational conditions necessary for psychiatry to become an attractive and sustainable career choice again. The article is based on a synthesis of the international literature on professional identity formation, Hungarian research on psychiatric professional identity, and a qualitative case-based analysis. Orv Hetil. 2026; 167(29): 1142-1151.