Medical Students’ Recognition for the Roles of Psychologists versus Psychiatrists at Umm Al-Qura University: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background and Aims: The professions of psychiatry and psychology are recognized to possess considerable overlap and have historically been a source of confusion among the general populace, The consequences of poor societal awareness of psychologists may reach medical students and could negatively affect their attitudes to psychiatry. This study aims to assess the medical student’s knowledge of the role of psychiatrists and psychologists at Umm al-Qura University in Makkah. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using a self-administered questionnaire. All undergraduate medical students, both male and female, attending the medical college were included. Then, data were analyzed using the SPSS software. Results: A total of 499 medical students were included in the study. The most common sources of medical/ general information that medical students use to gain their knowledge are books and readings online (61%). More than half of the students between 18-21 years had a low level of knowledge (66.5%) compared to 48.6% of students between 22-25 with a recorded statistical significance of p=0.008. Students in their pre-clinical years (second and third years) demonstrated lower levels of knowledge (70.3%) than their peers in the clinical years (fourth to sixth years) (48.3%), with a statistically significant p-value of 0.002. Conclusions: The current study found that more than half of the medical students at Umm Al-Qura University have a low level of knowledge related to the differences between psychologists’ and psychiatrists’ professional roles. Psychiatry courses and rotations in medical curriculums need more refinements to help students better understand work in mental health fields.