Can Psychiatrists be Recruited in Medical School?

Abstract

Thirty senior medical students were interviewed and given personality and medical specialty preference tests in order to identify the major factors which had influenced their choice of specialty. Of particular interest were the factors that differentiated potential psychiatrists from all others, and within the “potential” group, the students who chose psychiatry from those who did not. Six hypothetical categories of medical students were constructed from the data, and characteristics of students assigned to each category were compared. Differences among the categories of students were identified that have implications for the recruitment of psychiatrists and the education of medical students in psychiatry.