A natural experiment in psychiatric education took place nationally
between 1970 and 1976, when one group of residents entered psychiatry with
an internship, and the other without one. In this study 22 psychiatry
residents with an internship and 25 without one were compared during their
first two years of training. Initial faculty evaluations of the two groups'
responsibility, insight, teachability, and knowledge were virtually
identical, as were those of their overall performance in inpatient,
consultation, and emergency psychiatry. However, ratings of outpatient
psychotherapy showed several significant and differences favoring the
noninternship group. The authors find these results disquieting. They
suggest that interferences with empathy may be an untoward side effect of
the internship.Abstract Teaser