ERIC Number: EJ973711
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012-May
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1042-9670
EISSN: N/A
Promoting Psychiatry as a Career Option for Ghanaian Medical Students through a Public-Speaking Competition
Agyapong, Vincent Israel Opoku; McLoughlin, Declan
Academic Psychiatry, v36 n3 p229-232 May 2012
Objectives: Authors assessed the impact of a public-speaking competition on the level of interest in psychiatry of Ghanaian medical students. Method: An inter-medical school public-speaking competition was organized to promote psychiatry as a fulfilling career option for Ghanaian medical students. Feedback questionnaires were completed by the students and others in attendance at the event (N=122). The results were compiled and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Of the 80 feedback forms received, 37 (46.2%) were from medical students; 2 (2.5%) from physicians; 19 (23.8%) from other health professionals, mainly nursing students; and 22 (27.5%) were from journalists. Of the medical students, 29 (78.4%) agreed that the competition had helped positively change their perception of psychiatry; 22 students (59.5%) agreed or strongly agreed that the interest of medical students in psychiatry would be stimulated by the competition; 10 students (27%) agreed or strongly agreed that they would consider psychiatry as a career option if the government were to offer attractive incentive packages for doctors to train in psychiatry. Conclusion: An inter-medical school public speaking competition is an innovative way to encourage medical students in a developing country like Ghana to consider a career in psychiatry. (Contains 1 table.)
Descriptors: Feedback (Response), Nursing Students, Medical Students, Public Speaking, Medical Schools, Physicians, Psychiatry, Competition, Foreign Countries, Speech Communication, Career Education
American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc. 1000 Wilson Boulevard Suite 1825, Arlington, VA 22209-3901. Tel: 800-368-5777; Tel: 703-907-7856; Fax: 703-907-1092; e-mail: appi@psych.org; Web site: http://ap.psychiatryonline.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A