<p>Factors associated with medical students’ choice of psychiatry as future specialty: a cross-sectional study</p>

Abstract

BackgroundDespite the fact that mental illnesses are highly prevalent, shortage of trained human resource, particularly psychiatrists, in the field is disproportionately low. This is especially challenging in developing countries. We report factors affecting medical students’ choice of psychiatry specialty as a future career.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study design incorporating demographics, psychiatry specialty choice and a list of factors related to psychiatry was administered to fourth year medical students. Chi-squared test was used to identify factors associated with psychiatry choice. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to identify the association between demographics and history of mental illness against psychiatry choice.ResultsOne hundred and sixty-five medical students participated in the study. The majority, 139 (84.2%), of the students were male. From the medical students, 34 (21%) reported that they will choose to specialize in psychiatry for their future career. A chi-squared test result indicated that there were many factors associated with psychiatry choice. Family history of mental illness was found to be significantly associated with the future career choice of the psychiatry discipline (AOR=2.76; CI: 1.05–7.25).ConclusionFamily history of mental illness seemed to be a significant factor in medical students’ psychiatry choice. Positive attitude to psychiatry, ‎the manner in which psychiatry is taught, satisfaction related to practical and theoretical psychiatry education, having direct involvement in psychiatric patient care and the like were factors that affect psychiatry choice. Therefore, paying due attention to modifiable factors negatively affecting psychiatry choice may increase the selection of the field by medical students as a specialty.

The perceived impact of curricular and non-curricular factors on specialty interests and choice during medical school at a single center in the United States

“…They also shared the time point at which they decided on their specialty and why they made the decision at that time. The authors compiled these narratives from the focus groups and used content derived from previously validated and published surveys on specialty interests and choice [ 6 – 11 , 23 , 24 ] to create a 22-question survey. The survey was designed using the Qualtrics Survey Software (Qualtrics, Seattle, WA), which also collected and compiled the responses.…”

“…Research has shown that several factors impact specialty decisions including academic interests, lifestyle and work schedule, income, prestige, job market, student debt, board scores, and personality [ 1 – 5 ]. Students place varying levels of importance on these factors depending on their specialty choice as demonstrated by studies in fields including surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and pathology [ 6 – 9 ].…”

Mental health challenges in Nigeria: Bridging the gap between demand and resources

“…Gender is one of these factors, and there has been a beneficial association between the female gender and a positive attitude toward psychiatry (McParland et al, 2003). Prior knowledge of mental illness before entry to medical school, either personally or through having a family member or a friend become mentally ill, was associated with a positive attitude toward psychiatry and a choice in the specialty as a career in another study conducted by Kerebih et al (2019) among medical undergraduates in Ethiopia. This is supported by a survey conducted by Rajagopal et al (2004), which suggests that it could be due to the student's experience knowing or caring for a mentally ill person, which makes the student more comfortable with psychiatry and psychiatric patients.…”

Mental illness attitudes in medical education: Assessing the stigma in medical students

“…The people in charge of education play a fundamental role in facilitating and supervising direct contact with patients, promoting coexistence, participating in their treatment, and fostering comprehensive learning (Kerebih, Salelew, & Hailesilassie, 2019;Lyons & Janca, 2015). Various guidelines have been established to achieve objectives within the medical student's training (Sartorius et al, 2010).…”