Attitudes to psychiatry in doctors at the end of their first post-graduate year: two-year follow-up of a cohort of medical students.

The significantly favourable changes in medical students' general attitudes to psychiatry which we found after their 8-week clerkship in psychiatry and at the end of their clinical curriculum were not maintained at the end of their first post-graduate year. Three of their specific attitudes to psychiatry changed significantly in an unfavourable direction over this 2-year period. Our findings suggest that, while favourable changes in students' specific attitudes to psychiatry can be found following a clerkship, these attitudes do not seem to endure and, in some cases, they later become less favourable. The results are discussed with reference to the relationships between undergraduate medical training in psychiatry, attitudes to psychiatry, and subsequent career choice, particularly general practice.