Impact of medical school experiences on senior medical students' interest in psychiatry.

This is a questionnaire study analyzing the influence of various medical school experiences on 146 final year medical students' interest and respect for psychiatry. The results indicated that clinical postings, lectures, contact with psychiatric patients and psychiatry faculty had a positive influence on majority of students. Many students perceived non-psychiatric faculty and fellow students as critical of psychiatry. Students with greater career interest in psychiatry were more positively influenced by contact with patients, faculty and clinical postings. When compared to results reported from developed nations, medical school experiences had a similar influence on our students. However, it is doubtful whether our findings can be generalized to other medical schools in Indian and further studies form other medical schools are warranted.