Factors related to choosing psychiatry as a future medical career among medical students at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Indonesia.

OBJECTIVE. To identify factors related to choosing psychiatry as a future medical career and attitude towards psychiatry among medical students of the International Class Programme of the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Indonesia. METHODS. This was a cross-sectional design which included 225 data sets from first to sixth year medical students (n = 188) as well as the freshly graduated medical doctors (n = 37). The Attitude Towards Psychiatry-30 questionnaire (ATP-30) was adopted. Data including demographics, past experience in psychiatry, inclination to work in psychiatry, and 3 specialty choices for future medical career were collected. Independent t test and logistic regression were used in data analysis. RESULTS. The mean ATP-30 score from the fresh graduates was slightly higher compared with the medical students. Inclination to work in the field of psychiatry, past experience in psychiatry, and the ATP-30 score were significantly correlated and contributed 57% to the prediction of choosing psychiatry as a future medical career (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION. The greater inclination to work in the field of psychiatry, as well as a better attitude towards psychiatry can predict the choice of psychiatry as a future medical career. Therefore, it is very important to increase the quality of psychiatry teaching and to motivate medical students who show a high level of interest in psychiatry.