No psychiatry? Assessment of family medicine residents' training in mental health issues

Abstract

Objective: To assess whether the mental health component of the family medicine residency program at Memorial University of Newfoundland, which contains no formal mental health training with psychiatrists, adequately prepares residents for practice, and to assess which aspects of their training enhanced their mental health skills most.

Design: Cross-sectional mailed survey.

Setting: A 2-year family practice residency program with a focus on training for rural practice offering integrated and eclectic multidisciplinary mental health training rather than formal psychiatry experience.

Participants: Graduates of the family practice residency program, 1990 to 1995. Completed questionnaires were returned by 62 of 116 physicians.

Main outcome measure: Confidence of respondents in dealing with 23 mental health problems.

Results: Respondents felt prepared to address most of the mental health needs of their patients. Higher levels of confidence were associated with lower referral rates. There was no significant relationship between time spent in practice and confidence in dealing with mental health problems. Graduates' confidence correlated with areas in the program identified as strong.

Conclusions: The program appears to train family doctors effectively to meet the mental health needs of their patients.