Objectives for the undergraduate teaching of psychiatry: survey of doctorsand students

Objectives The principal aim was to assess the psychiatric topics that doct ors and students considered most important for undergraduate teaching. Diff erences between doctors and students, men and women, physicians/students wi th or without an interest in psychiatry were examined. Design A mailed questionnaire was used concerning the knowledge and skills of psychological/psychiatric medicine considered to be needed in medical pr actice. Setting The Medical School of the University of Geneva. Subjects Doctors and undergraduate medical students in their last 2 years o f medical training. Results Both doctors and students agreed on most topics, even though the st udents tended to give all items a higher rating. Both groups agreed on the importance of the following main topics: the doctor;patient relationship, i dentification and management of the principal psychiatric disorders and the ir associated risks and problems of a psychosocial nature. Those doctors sh owing an interest in psychiatry tended to accentuate the importance attache d to interpersonal skills. The male and female doctors and students express ed very similar opinions. The female doctors, however, tended to attach gre ater importance to relational-emotional aspects and to disorders affecting children and adolescents than did their male colleagues, which is probably a reflection of the specific role that women still play within our society. When asked to assess the current teaching they received in medical school, the students considered that certain important aspects of psychiatry were insufficiently taught. Conclusion These results confirm the importance of teaching psychiatry with an emphasis on problems encountered in general practice.