Acad Psychiatry (2014) 38:104–105 DOI 10.1007/s40596-013-0013-7
FEATURE: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Medical Students' Interest in Pursuing Psychiatry Residency: A 5-Year Analysis of a Consultation Psychiatry Clerkship Educational Module Edwin Meresh & Murali Rao & David Schilling & Matthew Niedzwiecki & Angelos Halaris
Received: 12 September 2013 / Accepted: 18 November 2013 / Published online: 16 January 2014 # Academic Psychiatry 2014
To the Editor: Stimulating medical student interest in the field of psychiatry is of critical importance, given the growing shortage of mental health care providers. It is generally accepted that early-career interest in a specialty area, including psychiatry, is the strongest predictor for pursuing a residency in the specialty area of choice [1] and should be supported throughout medical school. Educational programs and positive clerkship experience are important factors that might play a role for the development of interest in psychiatry [2, 3]. Among a few educational methods, the casebased education method has been an effective model [4]. Consultation–liaison psychiatrists, with their focus on medical, surgical, and psychiatry interface, can improve medical student education by teaching the intellectual challenge of psychiatry and enhance residency recruitment [5]. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of a new, case-based curriculum during the third-year clerkship in consultation–liaison (CL) psychiatry on medical students' choice to become a psychiatrist. Case-based curriculum at the CL service site was first established at our center in late 2007. All rotating clerkship and elective students are required to take part in case presentation. One student presents the core facts of the case, and the second student then presents an electronic slide presentation overviewing the literature search. Case conference offers an opportunity for educational interaction between students, residents, and faculty. These case presentations have evolved into Grand Round presentations and scientific publications, including three publications to date. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of the number of students who completed their core 6-week psychiatry E. Meresh (*) : M. Rao : D. Schilling : A. Halaris Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. Niedzwiecki Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
clerkship in different sites and those who chose psychiatry residency. Data were obtained from the University Registration and Records. Seventy-nine students rotated through the CL site (2003–2007) during the five academic years before case-based curriculum was established, and two students went to psychiatry residency (2.5 %). Five hundred eighty-seven students rotated through other sites, and 11 students went to psychiatry residency (1.8 %). One hundred twenty-two students rotated through CL (2008–2012) during five academic years after implementation of the case-based curriculum at the CL site in 2007, and seven students went to psychiatry residency (5.7 %). Five hundred seventy-six students rotated through other sites, and seven students went to psychiatry residency (1.2 %). Of these seven students from other sites who went to psychiatry residency, five of them (72 %) also completed a case-based, 4-week elective at the CL site after their core clerkship at other sites. We used Fisher's exact test to examine the data from the students pursuing psychiatric residency before and after implementation of the case-based curriculum. Prior to the introduction to the case-based model, students did not show a particular predilection to enter into the field of psychiatry when rotating through CL vs. other core psychiatry rotation sites (P value 0.659). After the introduction of the case-based learning module (2008–2012), we saw a better proportion of students who end up in the field of psychiatry who pursued the core clerkship in CL psychiatry (P value
FEATURE: LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Medical Students' Interest in Pursuing Psychiatry Residency: A 5-Year Analysis of a Consultation Psychiatry Clerkship Educational Module Edwin Meresh & Murali Rao & David Schilling & Matthew Niedzwiecki & Angelos Halaris
Received: 12 September 2013 / Accepted: 18 November 2013 / Published online: 16 January 2014 # Academic Psychiatry 2014
To the Editor: Stimulating medical student interest in the field of psychiatry is of critical importance, given the growing shortage of mental health care providers. It is generally accepted that early-career interest in a specialty area, including psychiatry, is the strongest predictor for pursuing a residency in the specialty area of choice [1] and should be supported throughout medical school. Educational programs and positive clerkship experience are important factors that might play a role for the development of interest in psychiatry [2, 3]. Among a few educational methods, the casebased education method has been an effective model [4]. Consultation–liaison psychiatrists, with their focus on medical, surgical, and psychiatry interface, can improve medical student education by teaching the intellectual challenge of psychiatry and enhance residency recruitment [5]. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of a new, case-based curriculum during the third-year clerkship in consultation–liaison (CL) psychiatry on medical students' choice to become a psychiatrist. Case-based curriculum at the CL service site was first established at our center in late 2007. All rotating clerkship and elective students are required to take part in case presentation. One student presents the core facts of the case, and the second student then presents an electronic slide presentation overviewing the literature search. Case conference offers an opportunity for educational interaction between students, residents, and faculty. These case presentations have evolved into Grand Round presentations and scientific publications, including three publications to date. The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of the number of students who completed their core 6-week psychiatry E. Meresh (*) : M. Rao : D. Schilling : A. Halaris Loyola University Medical Center, Maywood, IL, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. Niedzwiecki Butler Hospital, Providence, RI, USA
clerkship in different sites and those who chose psychiatry residency. Data were obtained from the University Registration and Records. Seventy-nine students rotated through the CL site (2003–2007) during the five academic years before case-based curriculum was established, and two students went to psychiatry residency (2.5 %). Five hundred eighty-seven students rotated through other sites, and 11 students went to psychiatry residency (1.8 %). One hundred twenty-two students rotated through CL (2008–2012) during five academic years after implementation of the case-based curriculum at the CL site in 2007, and seven students went to psychiatry residency (5.7 %). Five hundred seventy-six students rotated through other sites, and seven students went to psychiatry residency (1.2 %). Of these seven students from other sites who went to psychiatry residency, five of them (72 %) also completed a case-based, 4-week elective at the CL site after their core clerkship at other sites. We used Fisher's exact test to examine the data from the students pursuing psychiatric residency before and after implementation of the case-based curriculum. Prior to the introduction to the case-based model, students did not show a particular predilection to enter into the field of psychiatry when rotating through CL vs. other core psychiatry rotation sites (P value 0.659). After the introduction of the case-based learning module (2008–2012), we saw a better proportion of students who end up in the field of psychiatry who pursued the core clerkship in CL psychiatry (P value
