Medical student attitudes to psychiatry: lack of effect of psychiatric hospital experience.

Medical students' attitudes toward psychiatry before and after their final (sixth) year psychiatric clerkship at a large psychiatric hospital were measured. We anticipated that exposure to severe, chronic psychiatric illness would affect student attitudes, and we undertook this study to investigate the direction and parameters of attitude change. However, no significant change in attitude was found. Variables considered included the students' interest in a career in psychiatry, their perception of the adequacy of their psychiatric training, their final examination results, and the gender of students and preceptors, none of which were found to correlate with attitudes.

Staffing and funding of consultation-liaison psychiatry services in Australia and New Zealand.

The aim of the study was to establish the current and desired levels of staffing and funding of the 52 consultation-liaison (C-L) psychiatry training units in Australian and New Zealand general hospitals. Administration of a questionnaire and follow-up verification provided data on referral rates, existing and preferred staffing levels, and staff workloads. The referral rates and staffing levels in most cases fall below those quoted for Europe and the USA, and those considered optimal by the respondents. This, together with the large variation in referral rates and workload, has implications for the type of clinical activity conducted and quality of the training experience in different units.