Multicenter Study

. 2021 Mar 25;21(1):183.

doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02622-x.

Career choice and influential factors among medical students majoring in psychiatry in China

Ying-Jian Zhang¹, Kai Yuan¹, Su-Hua Chang¹, Wei Yan¹, Jian-Yu Que¹, Jia-Hui Deng¹, Yi-Miao Gong^{1

2}, Jia-Ming Luo³, Shi-Chang Yang⁴, Cui-Xia An⁵, Yi-Min Kang⁶, Hua-Shan Xu⁷, Yi-Ming Wang⁸, Li-Fang Zhang⁹, Wen-Fang Zhang¹⁰, Yin-Li Song¹¹, Dong-Wu Xu¹², Huan-Zhong Liu¹³, Wen-Qiang Wang¹⁴, Chuan-Xin Liu¹⁵, Wen-Qiong Yang¹⁶, Liang Zhou¹⁷, Jiu-Bo Zhao^{18

19}, Miao-Yu Yu²⁰, Jun-Yu Chen²¹, Hong Tang²², Juan Peng²³, Xiu-Jun Zhang²⁴, Yong Xu^{25

26}, Ning Zhang²⁷, Li Kuang^{28

29}, Zhan-Jiang Li^{30

31

32

33}, Yu-Hua Wang³⁴, Jie Shi³⁵, Mao-Sheng Ran³⁶, Yan-Ping Bao³⁷, Le Shi³⁸, Lin Lu³⁹

Affiliations

¹ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Bei Road, Beijing, 100191, China.
² Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
³ School of Psychiatry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Mental Health Institute of Hebei Medical University, Brain Ageing and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
⁶ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
⁷ School of Mental Health, Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, China.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Changzhi People's Affiliated Hospital of Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, Shanxi, China.
¹⁰ Mental Health Department of Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China.
¹¹ Department of Pathology, Daqing Campus of Harbin Medical University, Daqing, China.
¹² School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹³ Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
¹⁴ Xianyue Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
¹⁵ Jining Medical University, Jining, China.
¹⁶ Department of Neurology, Dongfeng Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
¹⁷ Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China.
¹⁸ Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
¹⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
²⁰ Department of Mental Health, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
²¹ Shenzhi Department, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
²² Department of Psychology, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China.
²³ Teaching and Research Section of Psychology, School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
²⁴ North China University of Science and Technology Tangshan, Hebei, China.
²⁵ Shanxi Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment for Mental Disorders, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
²⁶ Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
²⁷ Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
²⁸ Mental Health Center, University-Town Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
²⁹ Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³⁰ Department of Clinical Psychology, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing, China.
³¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³² Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China.
³³ Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, China.
³⁵ National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China.
³⁶ Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³⁷ National Institute on Drug Dependence, School of Public Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100191, China. baoyp@bjmu.edu.cn.
³⁸ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Bei Road, Beijing, 100191, China. leshi@bjmu.edu.cn.
³⁹ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Bei Road, Beijing, 100191, China. linlu@bjmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33766012
PMCID: PMC7992123
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-021-02622-x

Multicenter Study

Career choice and influential factors among medical students majoring in psychiatry in China

Ying-Jian Zhang et al. BMC Med Educ. 2021.

. 2021 Mar 25;21(1):183.

doi: 10.1186/s12909-021-02622-x.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Bei Road, Beijing, 100191, China.
² Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
³ School of Psychiatry, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Second Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Mental Health Institute of Hebei Medical University, Brain Ageing and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China.
⁶ School of Basic Medical Sciences, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
⁷ School of Mental Health, Bengbu Medical College, Anhui, China.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
⁹ Department of Neurology, Changzhi People's Affiliated Hospital of Changzhi Medical College, Changzhi, Shanxi, China.
¹⁰ Mental Health Department of Baotou Medical College, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China.
¹¹ Department of Pathology, Daqing Campus of Harbin Medical University, Daqing, China.
¹² School of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
¹³ Chaohu Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui, China.
¹⁴ Xianyue Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen, Fujian, China.
¹⁵ Jining Medical University, Jining, China.
¹⁶ Department of Neurology, Dongfeng Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
¹⁷ Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Guangzhou, China.
¹⁸ Department of Psychology, School of Public Health, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
¹⁹ Department of Psychiatry, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
²⁰ Department of Mental Health, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
²¹ Shenzhi Department, Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, China.
²² Department of Psychology, Gannan Medical University, Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China.
²³ Teaching and Research Section of Psychology, School of Management, Zunyi Medical University, Zunyi, Guizhou, China.
²⁴ North China University of Science and Technology Tangshan, Hebei, China.
²⁵ Shanxi Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment for Mental Disorders, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
²⁶ Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.
²⁷ Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
²⁸ Mental Health Center, University-Town Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
²⁹ Department of Psychiatry, First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
³⁰ Department of Clinical Psychology, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing, China.
³¹ Beijing Key Laboratory of Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³² Center of Schizophrenia, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, China.
³³ Advanced Innovation Center for Human Brain Protection, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
³⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, China.
³⁵ National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, China.
³⁶ Department of Social Work and Social Administration, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³⁷ National Institute on Drug Dependence, School of Public Health, Peking University, 38 Xueyuan Road, Beijing, 100191, China. baoyp@bjmu.edu.cn.
³⁸ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Bei Road, Beijing, 100191, China. leshi@bjmu.edu.cn.
³⁹ Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), 51 Huayuan Bei Road, Beijing, 100191, China. linlu@bjmu.edu.cn.

PMID: 33766012
PMCID: PMC7992123
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-021-02622-x

Abstract

Background: The undergraduate program of psychiatry has been widely established in recent years to improve the education and recruitment of psychiatrists in China. We aim to investigate the career choice of medical students majoring in psychiatry in China and the influential factors.

Method: This multicenter study was conducted in 26 medical schools in China from May to October of 2019. Participants included 4610 medical students majoring in psychiatry and 3857 medical students majoring in clinical medicine. Multivariable logistic regression was used to investigate the influential factors of students' choices of psychiatry at matriculation and as a career.

Results: 44.08% of psychiatry majored students gave psychiatry as a first choice at matriculation, and 56.67% of them would choose psychiatry as a career, which was in sharp contrast to the proportion of clinical medicine majored students who would choose psychiatry as a career (0.69%). Personal interest (59.61%), suggestions from family members (27.96%), and experiencing mental problems (23.19%) were main reasons for choosing psychiatry major at matriculation. Personal interest (odds ratio [OR] = 2.12, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.87-2.40), experiencing a psychiatry clerkship (OR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.28-3.08), being female (OR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.30-1.68), experiencing mental problems (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.28-1.56), and suggestions from family members (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.08-1.46) correlated positively with students' choice of psychiatry as career. Students who lacked psychiatry knowledge (OR = 0.49, 95% CI = 0.29-0.85) or chose psychiatry because of lower admission scores (OR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.63-0.97) were less likely to choose psychiatry as a career.

Conclusion: More than half of psychiatry majored medical school students planned to choose psychiatry as their career, whereas very few students in the clinic medicine major would make this choice. Increasing students' interest in psychiatry, strengthening psychiatry clerkships, and popularizing psychiatric knowledge are modifiable factors to increase the psychiatry career intention. The extent to which medical students' attitudes toward psychiatry can be changed through medical school education and greater exposure to psychiatry will need further investigation.

Keywords: Career choice; Medical education; Medical students; Psychiatry major; Specialty choice.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Career choice and influential factors among medical students majoring in psychiatry in China

Affiliations

Career choice and influential factors among medical students majoring in psychiatry in China

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

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Full Text Sources

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