Teaching in a new key: Effects of a co-taught seminar on medical students' attitudes toward schizophrenia.

Abstract

In order to examine the effect of a consumer and professional co-taught seminar on recovery in persons with schizophrenia, fourth year medical students completed attitudinal surveys at the beginning and end of their 7-week rotation in psychiatry. Analysis of results comparing average change in scores in a group exposed to the seminar (n = 24) and a control group not exposed (n = 10), shows measurable change in some survey items indicative of attitudinal change. Such a teaching format may provide a broader perspective on the long term issues for persons with schizophrenia. This can serve to counter the limitations of the brief exposure students receive to hospitalized patients in the most debilitating phase of the illness. The co-teaching model may provide a new and balanced perspective for medical students, facilitating a more holistic understanding of patients and countering a possible overemphasis on diagnosis. Such a format could have application in teaching psychiatric residents, nurses, and other health professionals.

Evaluating the impact of direct and indirect contact on the mental health stigma of pharmacy students

“…It appears that the arguably obligatory contact health professionals have with consumers in the workplace may not be conducive to stigma reduction [5]. Although numerous studies have found significant success in specifically utilizing mental health consumers who have been trained to speak about their illness [32][33][34][35][36], the limited availability of these trained mental health consumers hinders their widespread implementation.…”

The attitude of medical students towards the mental mentally ill: the impact of a clinical attachment in Psychiatry

“…In other studies with a similar design, investigators have shown improvement in the attitudes of medical students following a psychiatry rotation of six weeks or more (7,8,10). However some studies have not shown improvement of the stigma scores after a psychiatry clinical attachment especially when the duration of the clinical rotation is two weeks or less (9,11).…”

“…Positive educational experiences and positive personal experiences have been shown to improve attitudes (5)(6)(7)(8). Other research has shown that being exposed to persons with long term mental illness as well as being exposed to negative images of mentally ill people may worsen attitudes (9).…”

“…Direct contact with patients with mental illness can reduce or sometimes increase stigmatizing attitudes (5)(6)(7)(8)(9). Positive educational experiences and positive personal experiences have been shown to improve attitudes (5)(6)(7)(8).…”

Attitudes to psychosis: health professionals

“…During undergraduate psychiatric training in particular, general attitudes to psychiatry are said to become more favourable (Coodin & Chisholm, 2001). However, in Australia, students also became more medically and 'authoritarian' oriented and less psychosocial and 'libertarian' oriented (Augustinos et ah, 1985).…”