Attitudes Towards Psychiatry: A Survey of Romanian Medical Residents

Abstract

Attitudes toward psychiatry affect personnel working in the field and treatment of mentally ill patients (1). Attitudes toward psychiatry as a vocation might primarily affect recruitment, whereas attitudes toward psychiatry patients may affect clinical practice; these issues have not been investigated (2). Doctors’ attitudes likely mirror those of the general population, although, unlike the general population, physicians come into contact with psychiatrists and psychiatry patients during their formal training or practice. Thus, a physician may develop a more objective perception of psychiatry than society as a whole. Physicians’ opinions are composed of several elements: impressions of psychiatrists themselves, psychiatry patients, and psychiatry as a discipline. Each of these is independent to a degree; one can have a low perception of psychiatry patients but high regard for psychiatrists (2). There is little research on residents’ or specialists’ perceptions of psychiatry (2–7). Within the medical community, there is controversy over the role and status of psychiatry, not only among other specialists, but among psychiatrists too (7). A number of published studies tried to assess medical students’ perceptions of psychiatry, aiming to counteract the decline of recruitment into psychiatry, although students’ preferences were found to be poor predictors of career choice (8). On one hand, some authors state that general opinions of psychiatry are considerably improving, together with its social image (9–13). On the other hand, according to some U.S., U.K., and Australian studies, the number of students choosing psychiatry as their future specialty has decreased considerably in the last four decades (3, 8, 9, 14–20). Among the possible explanations are psychiatry’s low status, low treatment efficacy, lack of scientific support, and frequent criticism by other physicians (9, 18, 21). While medical students’ attitudes toward psychiatry may influence recruitment, attitudes in trainees and physicians may also influence the ability of doctors to identify, treat, and refer patients with mental disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the attitudes of medical residents toward psychiatry and to compare the opinions of residents in psychiatry with those of residents in other specialties. We hypothesized that psychiatric residents would have more favorable attitudes toward their specialty than would residents in other specialties.