Influence of factors before and during medical school on choice of psychiatry as a specialty.
Prompted by the recruitment problem facing psychiatry, the authors investigated the influence of factors before and during medical school on choice of psychiatry. A questionnaire was completed by 392 of the 1982 graduates from 114 United States medical schools who entered a psychiatric training program in 1982. College courses, work experience, and experience with someone having a psychiatric disorder were the most positive "before" factors; the clinical psychiatric elective, the psychiatrist-patient relationship, inpatient experiences during the psychiatric clerkship, and control over practice hours were the most positive "during" factors.
D001290:Attitude; D002321:Career Choice; D002982:Clinical Clerkship; D003657:Decision Making; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires