Foundation Programme psychiatry placement and doctors' decision to pursue a career in psychiatry

Abstract

Aims and methodThis study analyses whether there is a relationship between a psychiatry placement during the UK Foundation Programme and appointment to psychiatry training. A survey was distributed to all foundation year 2 doctors in the UK to determine how many have exposure to psychiatry before specialty applications and whether such exposure correlates with choosing psychiatry as a career.ResultsThe study showed that 14.6% of foundation doctors had exposure to psychiatry prior to specialty applications. Of these, 14.9% chose psychiatry as a career in contrast to only 1.8% of those who did not have psychiatry exposure (χ2P = 0.0008; risk ratio 8.19).Clinical implicationsThis study adds weight to calls to increase the proportion of psychiatry posts in the Foundation Programme as part of a broader strategy to improve recruitment. To answer this question categorically, we suggest a prospective cohort study looking at how attitudes and career preferences change with exposure to psychiatry posts.

Reasons for choosing to specialise in psychiatry: differences between core psychiatry trainees and consultant psychiatrists

“…This opportunity was not available to most consultants. Kelley et al 's study 12 found that foundation doctors exposed to psychiatry before specialty applications are nearly ten times more likely to choose to specialise in psychiatry. This adds weight to calls to grow the number of foundation psychiatry posts in a bid to increase recruitment.…”

The Foundation Programme in psychiatry: a qualitative study into the effects of a foundation placement

“…These findings support the literature. Kelley et al 9 showed that 14.9% of those with a foundation psychiatry placement later chose psychiatry as a career, in contrast to only 1.8% of those who did not have psychiatry exposure.…”

Why geriatric medicine? A survey of UK specialist trainees in geriatric medicine

“…These were developed in response to a 2013 national survey of UK CMTs that highlighted dissatisfaction with training [20], and include a call for all CMTs to undertake a placement in geriatric medicine. At present, this remains a 'best practice' criterion and is not mandated; it is however recognised that the posts that foundation doctors undertake have a significant impact on their future career choices [21] -this may, in time, help to attract more junior doctors to the specialty. The strengths of this survey lie in: the use of a carefully piloted questionnaire which used questions comparable to those contained within prior surveys, enabling trends in perceptions to be considered over time; the use of a national contact database used for administration of training, meaning that all higher medical trainees in geriatric medicine were approached; and the rigorous methodology taken to evaluating the open response questions so that these data were explored in full and in depth.…”