Factors affecting the choice of a psychiatric career: an experimental study.

Some factors affecting the choice of a psychiatric career are explored using experimental data from all medical students in two classes who started their clinical clerkships with a strong interest in psychiatry. Information was obtained via regularly scheduled observations and discussions over 13-month clerkship periods. A number of themes were expressed by the clerks and explored in this paper. The significant impact of role models was especially noted. Experimental research can be most helpful in deepening one's understanding of the day-to-day forces that impinge upon the clinical clerk and the career decision process.