Increasing Recruitment Trends To Psychiatry In Canada

Morra, Alexandra; Lee, Elliott Kyung; Hamer, Debra; Fung, Kathryn

doi:10.1007/s40596-021-01429-8

Cited by 1 publication

(3 citation statements)

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“…To our knowledge, this is the only study of enrichment programs that has tracked this kind of data. About 5% of learners from Ottawa who did not apply to OPEP still went on to match to psychiatry, comparable to historical match rates from CaRMS [ 9 ]. Moreover, unlike other research into such enrichment programs, comparison can be made to changes in attitudes of OPEP participants to a standard group of clerkship students, and illustrates that even with a predetermined high interest, further improvements in attitudes towards psychiatry could be seen with OPEP (although waned with time), that were beyond those improvements seen with a “standard” clerkship experience for those presumed to have less predetermined interest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Psychiatry as a field has become more popular as measured by recent increases in students matching to psychiatry residency programs in the US and Canada [ 9 , 27 ]. In Canada the percentage of medical students matching to psychiatry was 7.5% in 2020 [ 9 ]. 2020 was the first year where 100% of the psychiatry positions across Canada were filled by the 1 st iteration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recruitment to psychiatry residency programs among medical students in Canada has historically been stable at 4–6% according to CaRMS data, which fails to meet the chronic community need [ 8 ]. Despite the significant need for psychiatrists, for the last 20 years up until 2020, every iteration of CaRMS has produced unmatched psychiatry positions in Canada in the first round [ 9 ]. In an effort to improve recruitment to psychiatry residency programs, since 2017, several Canadian schools have initiated “enrichment” programs” to enhance student interest in psychiatry [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A week long “pep” talk – initial and 2–3-year longitudinal data on the Ottawa Psychiatry Enrichment Program (OPEP)

et al. 2022

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Background Recruitment to psychiatry as a career has been challenging in Canada and abroad despite the known shortage and increasing burden of psychiatric issues globally. Deterrents to choosing psychiatry as a career include its negative stigma and paucity of knowledge about the field. The study goal was to evaluate the Ottawa Psychiatry Enrichment Program (OPEP), a one-week extracurricular program about psychiatry as a career for 1st and 2nd year medical students. We hypothesized OPEP would improve students’ attitudes towards psychiatry, and positive changes would be sustained 2–3 years later following their residency match. We hypothesized there would be a high recruitment of OPEP attendees to psychiatry programs. Methods 1st and 2nd year medical students from Canada applied to OPEP. Attendees completed the Attitudes Towards Psychiatry Questionnaire (ATP-30) at three times: before OPEP (PreOPEP), after OPEP (PostOPEP) and after their Canadian Residency Matching Service (CaRMs) match 2–3 years later. OPEP ATP-30 scores were compared to third-year student ATP-30 scores before and after their psychiatry rotation. Data were analysed using Friedman non-parametric ANOVA and post hoc testing by either Wilcoxon rank sum test, Wilcoxon matched pairs signed rank test, or parametric Welch independent t-test as appropriate. Effect sizes of group mean differences were calculated using Cohen’s “d”. Results Between 2017–2018, 29/53 Canadian applicants were selected for OPEP. 100%, 93.1% and 75.8% of OPEP students completed the PreOPEP, PostOPEP, and CaRMs ATP-30 surveys respectively. 43% of OPEP attendees matched to psychiatry. PostOPEP ATP-30 scores (mean = 133, median = 137, SD = 10.6) were significantly higher than PreOPEP ATP-30 (mean score = 121, median = 122, SD = 9.3, p < 0.001) and CaRMS ATP-30 (mean = 126, median = 127, SD = 12.3, p < 0.02) scores. OPEP effect size on ATP-30 scores was large (d = 1.2) but decreased 2–3 years later (p = 0.078, d = 0.44). 97/202 students completed the ATP-30 before and after their psychiatry rotation (clerkship). Clerkship effect size on improvement in ATP-30 was moderate (d = 0.39). There was a non-significant difference between OPEP CaRMS ATP-30 and post clerkship ATP-30 scores (median 127 vs 121, p = 0.056). Conclusions OPEP ameliorated attitudes toward Psychiatry, but improvement deteriorated longitudinally. Strategies for program design, and innovations to boost/retain improvements during clerkship years are discussed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%