Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:1614-1616
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Senior medical students' perceptions of the psychiatric clerkship
PG Bashook and SH Weissman
The psychiatric clerkship serves the unique role of being the basic
psychiatric experience for all physicians. The authors surveyed 680 senior
medical students (representing a mean of 32.4% of the students at 15
American medical schools) to obtain information on their experiences and
perceptions of this clerkship. These students' perceptions raise
potentially serious questions as to the effectiveness of the clerkship in
meeting educational needs. The medical students perceived the clerkship as
essential for their future careers but considered it easy compared with
other clerkships. This perception of easiness has implications both for
recruiting psychiatrists and for how practicing nonpsychiatric physicians
view psychiatry.
