Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
Can J Psychiatry. 2011 Oct;56(10):605-13. doi: 10.1177/070674371105601006.
In Canada, availability of and access to mental health professionals is limited. Only 6.6% of practising physicians are psychiatrists, a situation unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future. Identifying student characteristics present at medical school entry that predict a subsequent psychiatry residency choice could allow targeted recruiting or support to students early on in their careers, in turn creating a supply of psychiatry-oriented residency applicants.
Between 2002 and 2004, data were collected from students in 15 Canadian medical school classes within 2 weeks of commencement of their medical studies. Surveys included questions on career preferences, attitudes, and demographics. Students were followed through to graduation and entry data linked anonymously with residency choice data. Logistic regression was used to identify early predictors of a psychiatry residency choice.
Students (n = 1502) (77.4% of those eligible) contributed to the final analysis, with 5.3% naming psychiatry as their preferred residency career. When stated career interest in psychiatry at medical school entry was not included in a regression model, an exit career choice in psychiatry was predicted by a student's desire for prestige, lesser interest in medical compared with social problems, low hospital orientation, and not volunteering in sports. When an entry career interest in psychiatry was included in the model, this variable became the only predictor of an exit career choice in psychiatry.
While experience and attitudes at medical school entry can predict whether students will chose a psychiatry career, the strongest predictor is an early career interest in psychiatry.
在加拿大，精神健康专业人员的数量和可及性有限。只有 6.6%的执业医生是精神科医生，这种情况在可预见的未来不太可能得到改善。确定医学生入学时存在的预测随后选择精神科住院医师的特征，可以允许有针对性地招募或支持学生在职业生涯早期，从而创造出更多对精神科感兴趣的住院医师申请。
在 2002 年至 2004 年期间，在医学学习开始后的 2 周内，从 15 个加拿大医学院的 15 个班级的学生那里收集数据。调查包括职业偏好、态度和人口统计学问题。学生们一直跟踪到毕业，并将入学数据与住院医师选择数据匿名链接。使用逻辑回归来确定选择精神科住院医师的早期预测因素。
有 1502 名学生（符合条件的学生的 77.4%）参与了最终分析，其中 5.3%的学生将精神科作为首选住院医师职业。当在回归模型中不包括医学生入学时对精神科的职业兴趣时，学生对声望的渴望、对医学相对于社会问题的兴趣较低、对医院的倾向较低以及没有在运动中志愿服务，都可以预测毕业后选择精神科。当在模型中包含入学时对精神科的职业兴趣时，该变量成为毕业后选择精神科的唯一预测因素。
尽管医学生入学时的经验和态度可以预测学生是否会选择精神科职业，但最强的预测因素是早期对精神科的职业兴趣。
