title: Training in sleep medicine among European early career psychiatrists: a project from the European Psychiatric Association--Early Career Psychiatrists Committee.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sleep disorders have a proven association with psychiatric illness. Therefore, psychiatrists require appropriate training in diagnosing and treating sleep disorders. To date, there is no data available in Europe on training in sleep medicine for early career psychiatrists (ECP).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the availability of training in sleep medicine for psychiatric trainees across Europe and to establish how confident doctors feel in treating these conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  European-wide survey carried out by the European Psychiatric Association (EPA)-Early Career Psychiatrists Committees. Representatives of ECPs from each participating European country filled in a questionnaire about availability of training in sleep medicine in their country. ECPs were also invited to fill out a questionnaire at the EPA congress in Nice in 2013.
  
  
  RESULTS
  55 participants from 27 European countries responded. Only 24% had sleep medicine training mandatorily included in their national training curriculum. A majority (60%) felt that the quality of the training they received was either average or below average. 88% felt either very or fairly confident in treating insomnia. However, when asked to select the correct management options for insomnia from a provided list of six, only 19% and 33% of respondents chose the two correct options.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a clear gap between the level of confidence and the clinical judgements being made to treat insomnia among European ECPs. There is a definite need to improve the availability and structure of sleep medicine training for psychiatric trainees in Europe.
authors.affiliation: University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Walls
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kölkebeck
authors.forename: Alina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petricean-Braicu
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lattova
authors.forename: Martina Rojnic
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Kuzman
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Andlauer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D011570:Psychiatry / Q000193:education*; D056508:Sleep Medicine Specialty / Q000193:education*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires