Practising psychiatrists' views of the certification examination in psychiatry.

Abstract

This report is based on a survey of all those postgraduates in psychiatry who graduated from the training program at the University of Toronto between the years 1966–1976. We were interested in obtaining the views of our colleagues about the Certification Examination in Psychiatry, because it was our impression that there has been a great deal of dissatisfaction with the examination procedure over the years. A total of 238 questionnaires were sent out and 140 replies were received. Our analysis indicated that 90% of those responding had been successful in the certification examination, but 85.3% were dissatisfied with the examination process. It is significant that 85.3% of our sample felt that some form of certification procedure was necessary. The certification procedure is designed to determine whether an adequately trained physician is “safe and competent” to practise as a specialist in psychiatry. The examination's ability to assess areas of psychiatric practice (somatic and social therapies, interview and diagnostic technique, research and teaching skills) were also evaluated. The Royal College has made changes in the examination procedure over the last few years, for example the changeover to complete multiple choice questions was well received by our sample. Other suggested changes are examined in terms of our colleagues’ enthusiasm for their in-corporation into the examination procedure.