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Integrating research into the career of a psychiatrist in the past, present and future?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Sameer Jauhar*
Affiliation:
Hairmyres Hospital, Lanarkshire, Scotland, email: sameer.jauhar@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Type
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Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2010

Following the maelstrom of Modernising Medical Careers and changes to postgraduate training in the UK, trainees' exposure to research has changed significantly. At an early stage, those interested in a research career apply for a limited number of academic clinical fellow and clinical lecturer posts through academic programmes. The latest version of the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Occasional Paper 65, Specialist Training in Psychiatry, 1 advocates two sessions of ‘protected time’ for higher trainees for both research and special interest sessions (unlike the four sessions advocated in the past). Reference Tyrer2 Anecdotal feedback from trainees across the country suggests that significant numbers of higher trainees are therefore not conducting research (favouring audit), and although provision is made in the curriculum for research, deaneries are not compelled to enforce this.

Australian colleagues have pointed to this problem in the past Reference Hay, Mulder and Boyce3 and used the analogy of knowledge of research methods and statistics without conducting actual research being akin to that of practising medicine based solely on theoretical knowledge, without patient contact.

Furthermore, at a time when recruitment into psychiatry is in the spotlight, one of the accepted reasons for students neglecting psychiatry as a career choice (perceived lack of a scientific basis) Reference Malhi, Parker, Parker, Carr, Kirkby and Yellowlees4 may be accentuated.

The ramifications of this shift could be that an entire generation of psychiatrists stop asking (and testing) the clinically relevant questions and that aspiring students do not enjoy the enriching experience of research.

References

1 Royal College of Psychiatrists. Specialist Training in Psychiatry: A Comprehensive Guide to Training and Assessment in the UK for Trainees and Local Educational Providers. Occasional Paper OP69. Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2009 (http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/files/pdfversion/OP69.pdf).Google Scholar
2 Tyrer, P. Is research just an optional extra in clinical psychiatry? Invited commentary on… Research as part of the career of a psychiatrist entering clinical practice. Psychiatr Bull 2009; 33: 273–4.Google Scholar
3 Hay, P, Mulder, R, Boyce, P. The scientific practitioner in psychiatry for the 21st century. Australas Psychiatry 2003; 11: 442–5.Google Scholar
4 Malhi, GS, Parker, GB, Parker, K, Carr, VJ, Kirkby, KC, Yellowlees, P, et al. Attitudes toward psychiatry among students entering medical school. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2003; 107: 424–9.Google Scholar
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