Consultation-liaison psychiatry as a subspecialty: A Canadian survey

Abstract

In Canada, in recent years, there has been increased interest in the issue of subspecialization in psychiatry. One hundred and forty-four members of the Section on Psychosomatic Medicine of the Canadian Psychiatric Association responded to a survey about their opinions on teaching, training, continuing education, and designation of consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry as a subspecialty. Fifty-five percent of respondents agreed that C-L psychiatry should receive designation as a psychiatric subspecialty, 35% were opposed, and 10% did not give an opinion. The results also indicated that formal teaching in C-L psychiatry has increased, particularly over the past 20 years; that training in C-L psychiatry is believed by many to have been inadequate, regardless of when the training took place; and recent graduates were more likely than psychiatrists graduating more than 10 years ago to agree that C-L psychiatry should be designated as a subspecialty. Psychiatrists who devote more of their time to the care of patients with combined medical and psychiatric illness were also more likely to favor subspecialty designation. Factors unique to Canada that may influence attitudes toward psychiatric subspecialization include the number and geographic distribution of psychiatrists, their educational background, and governmental funding priorities.