Influence of factors before and during medical school on choice of psychiatry as a specialty

Prompted by the recruitment problem facing psychiatry, the authors investigated the influence of factors before and during medical school on choice of psychiatry. A questionnaire was completed by 392 of the 1982 graduates from 114 United States medical schools who entered a psychiatric training program in 1982. College courses, work experience, and experience with someone having a psychiatric disorder were the most positive "before" factors; the clinical psychiatric elective, the psychiatrist-patient relationship, inpatient experiences during the psychiatric clerkship, and control over practice hours were the most positive "during" factors.