ABSTRACT
Research involving general patients suggests that most patients agree to be involved in medical education but prefer not to discuss personal or stress related issues with/in front of medical students. We explore the opinions and experiences of mentally ill in-patients of their involvement in undergraduate medical education in psychiatry. The study shows that patients attach importance to students seeing real patients and that the patients are happy to be seen by medical students. Most patients benefit from seeing a student and few suffer detriment. They experience anxiety prior to the student-patient interview which dissipates during the interview. Mentally ill patients agree to see medical students for similar reasons to other patients. It is important to obtain full consent from patients who see medical students.
Subject(s)
Attitude , Education, Medical, Undergraduate/methods , Inpatients , Mental Disorders/psychology , Psychiatry/education , Students, Medical , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Anxiety , Female , Humans , Informed Consent , Interviews as Topic , Male , Middle Aged , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Previous cross-sectional studies have highlighted a number of obstetric variables that may be associated with the development of broadly defined puerperal (post-partum) psychosis. These include: (a) primiparity, (b) pregnancy complications, (c) delivery complications, (d) Caesarean section, (e) female baby and (f) shorter gestation period. AIMS: To examine these risk factors in women with well-characterised bipolar affective puerperal psychosis. METHOD: A sample of 129 women with bipolar affective puerperal psychosis were investigated using a design that takes advantage of within-subject comparisons of affected and unaffected deliveries. RESULTS: Two of the variables studied were independently associated with an episode of puerperal psychosis: primiparity (odds ratio=3.76, P < 0.001) and delivery complications (odds ratio=2.68, P=0.022). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides further evidence of the association between primiparity and puerperal psychosis and suggests that complications during delivery may be associated with a severe post-partum episode.