Psychiatry as compared to other career choices: a survey of medical students in Hong Kong.

A questionnaire was administered to two groups of medical students, one preclinical and the other clinical, to assess their career choices, opinions of six specialties (including internal medicine, general practice, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry as well as surgery) and anxieties about psychiatry. It was found that both groups of students conceptualized clinicians according to stereotypes which were modified but not abated by clinical exposure. Although the clinical students compared to preclinical students attributed more positive personality traits to psychiatrists, students interested in taking up careers in psychiatry were few in both groups. Compared to the preclinical class, clinical students were less worried about disturbed patients and emotional involvement with patients, but were more concerned about their deficiency in knowledge and skills relevant to psychiatry.