Title: Perception and attitude of medical students towards their career choices and speciality of Psychiatry
Authors: Dr Ravi C Sharma, Dr Dinesh Dutt Sharma, Dr Neeraj Kanwar, Dr Ankit Choudhary, Dr Pankaj Kanwar
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v6i6.136
Abstract
Background: To evaluate students’ perception and attitude towards psychiatry in comparison with other specialities like medicine, surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics & gynaecology, orthopaedics, radio diagnosis and dermatology seems to be a global issue and is an essential part of programs to improve the status of the profession.
Methods: Perception of 98 1st year and 90 final year medical students from the Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla was recorded using a semi-structured questionnaire. Students provided their opinion about future career choices and perspective of these specialties in terms of work-life balance, challenging aspect, ability to help patients effectively, financial reward, reputation, and emotional stability; their preferences in life and interaction with psychiatrist and its impact.
Results: Psychiatry was ranked less attractive among majority of the specialities under study, but was found more attractive than dermatology. Surgery was a high priority for 40 (41%) students while psychiatry was a high priority in only 8 (8.2%) first year students, while in final year, medicine was a high priority for 29 (32.2%) while psychiatry was a high priority in only 12 (18.8%) students. Psychiatry had higher emotional stability but the reputation was lower among all the specialities in both groups. Those who like psychiatry attributed more importance to an interesting and challenging job than to prestige and financial reward.
Conclusion: Our study points out the fact that prejudices toward patients with mental dysfunctions and lack of confidence in the efficacy of psychiatric treatment should be specially targeted by the curriculum in the later part of undergraduate education.
Keywords: Attitude, psychiatry, medical students.
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