Increasing interest in child and adolescent psychiatry in the third-year clerkship: results from a post-clerkship survey.

Objective: The authors aimed to determine whether a structured clinical experience in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) during the third-year psychiatry clerkship would impact interest in pursuing careers in psychiatry and CAP.

Methods: The authors constructed and administered a postrotation survey, the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Experiences Questionnaire (CAPE-Q), to evaluate clinical experiences and career interest in psychiatry and CAP both before and after a clerkship in psychiatry. The value of specific aspects of the clerkship to students' career decisions was also assessed. The students completed the surveys at the end of their psychiatry clerkship in the 2005-2006 academic year and in their first rotation of 2006-2007.

Results: Of the 98 respondents, the majority reported no change in interest in general psychiatry or in CAP after the clerkship. However, exposure to inpatient CAP correlated with increased interest in the field and in its influence on pursuing a CAP career. Interest in CAP positively correlated with agreement that the CAP clinical experience influenced their career decision. The influence of the CAP clinical experience on career decision was associated with interest in both psychiatry and CAP, as well as with change in CAP interest after the clerkship.

Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that the CAPE-Q may be useful for assessing students' clerkship experiences and the impact of these experiences on their decision to pursue a career in child psychiatry. Here, inpatient CAP experience led to increased interest in the field. The CAPE-Q could be used to identify students for whom electives and mentoring opportunities could be arranged. It could also be used in assessment of clerkship experiences.