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Australian Junior Doctors’ Perspectives on Psychiatry Teaching in Medical School

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Abstract

Objective

This research aimed to investigate the perspectives of junior doctors regarding the psychiatry teaching they received in medical school and to ascertain which areas of psychiatry are relevant to practicing junior doctors.

Methods

In 2017 an online survey was sent to junior doctors affiliated with an Australian public health service. Respondents were asked to rate the degree of preparation their medical school education had provided, in regard to the application of psychiatry knowledge/skills in their practice. Respondents were also asked to specify which psychiatry knowledge/skills were relevant to their practice and how psychiatry teaching in medical school could be improved. Authors generated descriptive statistics for the quantitative data and reviewed the open-ended question data to form themes, guided by the general inductive approach.

Results

The responses of 82 junior doctors were included in the analysis. Over half of the respondents believed that their psychiatry teaching in medical school had prepared them well for their current clinical practice. Responses to open-ended questions noted the following areas of psychiatry as most relevant to practice: delirium, mood disorders, risk assessment, and de-escalation. Respondents emphasized the importance of teaching psychiatry knowledge/skills relevant to the management of patients seen outside of psychiatric units.

Conclusions

Psychiatry teaching in medical school appears to be providing adequate preparation for most junior doctors. However, there is still significant room for improvement. Changes to the curriculum should be considered, with a greater emphasis on clinically relevant psychiatry knowledge/skills, increased active learning sessions, and a broader range of clinical placements.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the Medical Education Department at Alfred Health for facilitating the survey distribution and Anne Crawford for her assistance in proofreading this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Sarah Rotstein, Jayashri Kulkarni & Gemma Sharp

  2. Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Robert Caric

Authors
  1. Sarah Rotstein
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  2. Robert Caric
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  3. Jayashri Kulkarni
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  4. Gemma Sharp
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah Rotstein.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Rotstein, S., Caric, R., Kulkarni, J. et al. Australian Junior Doctors’ Perspectives on Psychiatry Teaching in Medical School. Acad Psychiatry 44, 562–565 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01281-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-020-01281-2

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