The Impact of A Clinical Psychiatric Clerkship on Medical Students’ Attitude Toward Psychiatry and Psychiatric Patients
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Abstract
Objective: To study the impact of a clinical psychiatric clerkship on medical students’ attitude toward psychiatry and psychiatric patients, as well as the related factors.
Methods: A prospective cohort study where researchers collected data on the attitudes of fourth-year medical students towards psychiatry and psychiatric patients, along with related factors, both before and after their participation in clinical training in psychiatric clerkship for a period of 2 weeks at Thammasat University Hospital. This study employed an online questionnaire, comprising information during the psychiatric clinical training and the Thai version of Mental Illness: Clinicians' Attitudes Scale - Medical Student version (MICA-2). The analysis involved examining the change in attitude scores through Dependent t-test statistics, and exploring the relationship between the altered MICA-2 scores and pertinent factors using Multivariable Linear Regression Analysis.
Results: A total of 116 fourth-year medical students participated in the research (equivalent to 61% of all fourth-year medical students). The average scores of MICA-2 Thai version, before and after participating in clinical training in psychiatric medicine for a 2-week period, were 44.59 and 40.73, respectively. This indicates a decrease of 4.77 points (p<0.001), signifying an improvement in the medical students' perspectives. However, this study did not find statistically significant factors influencing the students' attitudes.
Conclusion: The two-week clinical psychiatric clerkship has positively influenced medical students’ attitude toward psychiatry and psychiatric patients. However, this study did not find clear factors that influence a significant change in the attitudes of medical students.
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