The University of Western Australia Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students: An Australian First

Abstract

Twenty-one students attended the inaugural Institute. Twenty-seven speakers contributed to the morning seminars and there were 17 clinical elective site visits. Feedback from students was positive and the week was rated highly, both in terms of its organization and from an academic perspective. It is planned to run the Institute annually and, in time, it is hoped that it will increase the numbers of students who choose psychiatry as a career option.

Future-proofing the psychiatry workforce in Australia: evaluation of an innovative enrichment programme for medical students

“…In 2008, the School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Western Australia (UWA) established the first enrichment programme in Australia, the Claassen Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students (the Institute). 8 The Institute has been run annually since inception and students in the clinical years of the medical course who are thinking about, but not fully committed to a career in psychiatry are invited to apply. The week-long programme provides students with a more detailed and comprehensive exploration of the discipline than is covered in the psychiatry curriculum.…”

„Die Psychiatrie nimmt sich Zeit …“ Warum Psychiater*in werden? – Eine qualitative Studie

“…Ein 8-wöchiges psychiatrisches Famulaturpraktikum an der Medical University of Western Australia zeigte nur mäßige Auswir-kungen auf bestehende Einstellungen, Vorurteile und Überlegungen zur Berufswahl der Studierenden [19]. Um die Rekrutierung von Medizinstudent*innen für die Psychiatrie zu verbessern, organisierte die psychiatrische Abteilung an der University of Western Australia seit 2009 eine jährliche "Schnupperwoche", in der Student*innen die Möglichkeit hatten, eine Reihe von interaktiven Seminaren zu psychiatrischen Themen zu besuchen sowie mit Psychiater*innen und solchen in der Ausbildung zu sprechen [20].…”

Evaluation of the Claassen Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students

“…A description of the development, aims and implementation of the Institute have been given elsewhere. 18 This paper reports results of the evaluation of the Institute's first two years.…”