title: The impact of the educational environment on career choice and attitudes toward psychiatry.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The educational environment may influence students' attitudes towards medical specialties, which in turn can affect specialty career choices. The present study sought to establish if perceptions of the educational environment in a psychiatry rotation influenced attitudinal changes towards psychiatry in medical students and impacts decisions about psychiatry as a career choice.
  
  
  METHODS
  The modified Attitudes to Psychiatry Scale, Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure, and questions specific to career choice in psychiatry were administered to 100 undergraduates in a psychiatry rotation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant improvements in attitudes toward psychiatry were highly correlated with the educational environment, particularly when it was perceived as providing inspiration and enabling students to recognize the merits of psychiatry and the effectiveness of treatment. However, there was a worsening trend in the stigma to psychiatry in the posting, and only the positive attitudinal change (but not educational environment) influenced a career choice in psychiatry.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While the educational environment contributes towards positive attitudinal changes in a specialty rotation, stigma of psychiatry continues to be a limiting factor, which is, unfortunately, not clearly addressed in the curriculum. The findings support the urgent need for interventions in this area.
authors.affiliation: National University of Singapore , Singapore .
authors.forename: Rathi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mahendran
authors.forename: Haikel A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Swapna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.forename: Ee Heok
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kua
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D003479:Curriculum; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D012846:Singapore; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult