Pre- and Post-Clerkship Knowledge, Perceptions, and Acceptability of Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) in 3rd Year Medical Students.

To examine the impact of the third year psychiatry clerkship on medical students' knowledge and opinion of ECT at University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. Despite overwhelming evidence of ECT's efficacy and safety for refractory affective illnesses, (among other conditions), it remains a misunderstood and underutilized intervention. Several studies indicate that ECT stigma and misinformation, unfortunately, does not spare the medical community. Medical students are an optimal group to study, as they are forming their perspectives on different specialties. Few studies have measured the effect of education programs (e.g., clerkships, lectures, observation of ECT) on medical students' perspectives on ECT.