The use of brief interventions to facilitate attitudinal changes in medical students

There have been long-standing difficulties with the recruitment of medical students into psychiatry. One of the reasons for this may be the perceived stigma attached to the profession. The aim of this paper is to assess whether a brief intervention could help to alter attitudes towards psychiatry in students undertaking clinical attachments with psychiatry components. An evidence-based intervention was delivered to fourth year medical students. Their attitudes towards the specialty were measured with the ATP-30 questionnaire in order to establish any effect. The intervention may have been associated with a temporary improvement in attitudes, which attenuated during the course of their clinical placements. Unexpectedly, it appeared that placements themselves may have contributed to a negative impact. Female students and those from a healthcare background were more likely to have positive views. Although single brief interventions may have only a limited effect in,ombating stigma in medical student's attitudes, placement experience appears to play a significant role, which requires further study.