Brenner Max, Schmidt-Brenner Amy
The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, United States.
The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States.
Acad Psychiatry. 2024 Dec;48(6):593-597. doi: 10.1007/s40596-024-02057-8. Epub 2024 Sep 27.
Given mental health workforce shortages, academic psychiatry departments have a compelling interest in developing pipeline programs. This article examines a pilot program for high school students within an academic psychiatry department, assessing whether it successfully informs students about mental health career options and increases their interest in them.
The authors recruited all program participants in 2022 and 2023 during data collection. The program served as an intervention, teaching participants about mental health career options, clinical practice, and client experiences via presentations from psychiatrists and other mental health professionals. Participants completed a pretest at the start of the two-week program and a posttest at the end. On both the pretest and posttest, participants rated their agreement with 22 statements relating to mental health career knowledge, attitudes, and interest. The authors analyzed the data using dependent means t tests.
The program increased participants' knowledge of the roles and paths to pursuing different mental health careers. It also increased participants' belief that they could pursue a mental health career. The program improved some but not all measured attitudes toward mental health and mental health careers. In 2023, the program increased participants' likelihood of pursuing a mental health career.
A pipeline program for underserved high school students delivered by an academic psychiatry department is feasible, and it was effective in changing attitudes and increasing the likelihood of pursuing a mental health career.
鉴于心理健康专业人员短缺，学术性精神病学系对开展人才培养项目有着迫切的兴趣。本文考察了一个学术性精神病学系为高中生设立的试点项目，评估其是否成功地让学生了解心理健康职业选择并提高了他们对这些职业的兴趣。
作者在2022年和2023年数据收集期间招募了所有项目参与者。该项目作为一种干预措施，通过精神科医生和其他心理健康专业人员的讲座，向参与者传授心理健康职业选择、临床实践和服务对象经历等方面的知识。参与者在为期两周的项目开始时完成了一项前测，在结束时完成了一项后测。在前测和后测中，参与者对与心理健康职业知识、态度和兴趣相关的22条陈述表示同意的程度进行评分。作者使用相关样本t检验对数据进行了分析。
该项目增加了参与者对不同心理健康职业的角色和从业途径的了解。它还增强了参与者认为自己可以从事心理健康职业的信念。该项目改善了一些但并非所有对心理健康和心理健康职业的测量态度。在2023年，该项目增加了参与者从事心理健康职业的可能性。
由学术性精神病学系为服务不足的高中生开展的人才培养项目是可行的，并且在改变态度和增加从事心理健康职业的可能性方面是有效的。
