Editor - I write in response to articles on reducing stigma towards mental illness and careers in liaison psychiatry.1 I investigated the attitudes of fourth year students at Leeds medical school towards patients with mental illness and towards psychiatry as a career. Previous studies show that only a small percentage of newly qualified doctors intend to enter this specialty.3 I wanted to find out why but also wanted to determine whether an attachment in psychiatry affected attitudes towards mental illness and career intentions. I spoke to one group of students before their placement and another afterwards.
The students I surveyed generally expressed good attitudes towards patients with mental illness both before and after their attachments. Surprisingly, many students already had experience of mental illness before their attachment, either through work experience or through family and friends with mental health problems.
I noted a lack of interest in a career in psychiatry. Before placements 60% of students showed a relatively high interest in the specialty, but this fell substantially, to 20%, in students who had completed their placement. Reasons given for these negative responses included, "depressing specialty," "emotionally distressing," and "patients take too long to show signs of recovery."
This brief study has identified an important problem. Although it is encouraging to find that most students report a positive attitude towards patients with mental illness, interest in entering the specialty itself is low. Medical education has an important role in influencing the choice of career. My advice would be to get the most out of your psychiatry attachments to help you decide if you have something to offer to this specialty.
