Aims and Method #ChoosePsychiatry is the Royal College of Psychiatrist's social media campaign aimed at medical students and foundation doctors to encourage recruitment into psychiatry. This study explored the reasons given for choosing psychiatry in videos uploaded by psychiatrists to Twitter alongside the campaign, through the use of thematic analysis. Results Each psychiatrist gave different reasons for choosing psychiatry but four main themes were identified: prior experience of psychiatry, career factors, patient factors and knowledge factors. Both undergraduate and postgraduate experiences were influential in choosing psychiatry. In particular, perceived job satisfaction, an opportunity to deliver holistic care and a sense of making a difference were also influential in choosing psychiatry. Clinical Implications Findings here support efforts to improve the undergraduate experience and to increase foundation posts, as well as maintaining some of the current key messages of the campaign. However, whilst engagement with the videos on Twitter was observed, further consideration of the most appropriate social media platform to ensure engagement with the target audience is needed.

Working as a foundation doctor in psychiatry I quickly noted the value of two things: the development of a strong therapeutic relationship and the importance of a detailed history. These two things are made much harder when your patient does not speak English and you do not speak their language. I present a reflection on my experiences with two patients who did not speak English, the role of interpreters and some common pitfalls when working with them.