MENTAL HEALTH OF STUDENTS RECEIVING CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIC TRAINING

Abstract

322 medical students in their clinical training period were instructed in psychiatry by two different methods; method A centred around clinical case material whereas method B emphasised the group discussion of such material in the light of students' subjective feelings and impressions about it. Method B led to the ventilation of many students' anxieties and worries about their possible psychiatric disorders through talking about the patients' symptoms they identified with. The number of students presenting for psychiatric difficulties from method-B group was significantly less than from method-A group. It is suggested that the group-centred technique might be more suitable than the orthodox case-material-centred method for clinical training in psychiatry. The incorporation of group-psychotherapeutic principles in the instruction setting seems to have a beneficial effect on the mental health of students diminishing their need to seek psychiatric help.