Medical student psychiatric educators' perceptions of supports, resources, and rewards.

OBJECTIVE

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the adequacy of resources for medical student education in psychiatry in US medical schools.

METHODS

An e-questionnaire was deployed to psychiatric educators in the Association of the Directors of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry (ADMSEP) regarding resources for fulfilling their educational mission.

RESULTS

Medical student educators in psychiatry were neutral as to whether they had adequate mentoring, yet did report support from their chair. Participants' roles in medical student education and membership in ADMSEP enhanced their work satisfaction, career satisfaction, and career development. Many participants reflected a lack of adequate resources to achieve student education goals.

CONCLUSIONS

There are opportunities for improvement in provision of teaching resources, mentoring for medical student educators, greater protected time for teaching and administration, and rewards (salary and non-monetary) for educators. If actualized, these improvements would promote optimization of medical student education in psychiatry.