COVID-19 and the mental well-being of Australian medical students: impact, concerns and coping strategies used.

Objective: Medical students are vulnerable to poor mental well-being. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted student life and had significant effects on curricula delivery at medical schools around Australia. The study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on medical student mental well-being, assess concerns and determine activities used by students to help with the situation.

Use of mental-health services by Australian medical students: a cross-sectional survey.

Objective: Medical students have higher rates of mental illness compared to the general population. Little is known about services accessed by medical students for mental-health problems. This study aimed to assess the use of mental-health services by Australian medical students and to identify barriers that may prevent students from using mental-health services.

Here and Now Aboriginal Assessment (HANAA): a follow-up survey of users.

Objectives: To explore users' views of, and experience with, the Here and Now Aboriginal Assessment (HANAA), an instrument developed for screening social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) in Aboriginal adults. Over the last few years the HANAA has been widely disseminated across Australia.

Methods: All those on our database who had requested the HANAA package were contacted by email and invited to participate in the evaluation by completing an online survey.

Establishment and implementation of a psychiatry enrichment programme for medical students.

Objective: There has been a growing interest in psychiatry enrichment programmes such as summer schools and institutes for medical students in the last 10 years. Evaluation of enrichment programmes shows that they can be an effective method of increasing students' interest in psychiatry as a career. However, despite initial enthusiasm and motivation within an academic department, establishing a programme can be a daunting task.

Future-proofing the psychiatry workforce in Australia: evaluation of an innovative enrichment programme for medical students.

Objective: The Claassen Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students (the Institute) is an innovative enrichment programme aimed at attracting medical students to psychiatry. This paper reports on the effectiveness of the Institute as a strategy to increase interest in psychiatry as a career, and the career pathways of students who have attended since 2008.

Method: Students completed a baseline questionnaire on day 1 and the final day of the Institute.

Here and Now Aboriginal Assessment: background, development and preliminary evaluation of a culturally appropriate screening tool.

Objective: Assessment of Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) is a complex and challenging task, in part due to a lack of suitable assessment tools. This paper reports the development and evaluation of a culturally appropriate screening tool called the Here and Now Aboriginal Assessment (HANAA).

Method: The initial phase included development of a glossary of Aboriginal terms and concepts relating to SEWB.

Impact of a psychiatry clerkship on stigma, attitudes towards psychiatry, and psychiatry as a career choice.

Background: Mental illnesses are a major public health problem around the world and the prevalence and burden of common mental disorders is growing. Psychiatry is an unpopular career choice for many medical students and this impacts negatively on the supply of psychiatrists to the workforce. The psychiatry clerkship can play an important role in influencing students' attitudes towards psychiatry, either positively or negatively.

Stigma towards mental illness among medical students in Australia and Ghana.

Objective: Stigma towards mental illness has been found to impact adversely on medical students' attitudes towards psychiatry. This study aimed to assess the impact of stigma among final year students at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana, and the University of Western Australia.

Method: A 28-item "Attitudes and stigma towards mental health" questionnaire was distributed to final year students at both universities.

Impact of the psychiatry clerkship on medical student attitudes towards psychiatry and to psychiatry as a career.

Objective: The psychiatry clerkship forms part of the core curriculum of medical schools worldwide and provides psychiatric educators with an ideal opportunity to positively influence students. The aim of this paper is to systematically review literature on the impact of the psychiatry clerkship to determine the effect on attitudes towards psychiatry and to psychiatry as a career.

Method: A systematic review was undertaken.

Attitudes of medical students toward psychiatry and psychiatry as a career: a systematic review.

Objective: The discipline of psychiatry, and psychiatry as a career option, have been negatively regarded by medical students for decades. There is a large amount of literature on attitudes of students and the factors that attract them to and detract from psychiatry. The aim of this article is to systematically review this literature from 1990 to the present time.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs as treatments for depression: an Australian pilot study.

Aims: Aims were to determine the effectiveness of acupuncture and Chinese herbs as treatments for depression, and to assess beliefs, attitudes and treatment experience.

Method: Participants received acupuncture or acupuncture and Chinese herbs combined for five weeks. Acupuncture was given for 30 min twice a week and herbs taken three times a day.

Evaluation of the Claassen Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students.

Objective: Psychiatric educators need to develop innovative strategies to attract more medical students to psychiatry. In 2008, the University of Western Australia held the inaugural Claassen Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students. This novel program aimed to increase students' level of interest in psychiatry as a career opportunity.

Diagnosis of male depression--does general practitioner gender play a part?

Background: Depression is a common illness often underdetected in general practice. Underdetection is more common in male patients compared with females. General practitioner gender and difficulties in communicating with male patients may play a role.

The University of Western Australia Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students: an Australian first.

Objective: Recruitment of medical graduates into psychiatry has become a growing issue over the last few decades. This paper describes the implementation of an innovative program, based on a Canadian concept, that aimed to promote psychiatry as a career choice to medical students, to immerse them in the 'world of psychiatry', and introduce them to potential mentors. The University of Western Australia Institute of Psychiatry for Medical Students was a week-long program that provided medical students with an opportunity to participate in a diverse agenda of interactive seminars on a range of psychiatric subspecialties and the neurosciences.