Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:1432-1435
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Distress precipitated by psychiatric training among medical students
K Kris
The author found that, for 35 (22%) of the 159 medical students who sought
consultation with her in a medical school mental health service, their
training in psychiatry precipitated the consultation. For 18 of these 35
students, acute anxiety or depression was the problem, and 17 were
motivated to explore psychotherapy in response to psychiatric courses and
clerkships. The author discusses the causes of conflicts engendered by
psychiatric teaching: acute symptoms result from a transitory imbalance in
the development of the student's identification with both patient and
physician. Recognition of this dual identification can heighten psychiatric
teachers' sensitivity to the problems that medical students may experience
during psychiatric training.
