Teaching child and adolescent psychiatry to undergraduate medical students - A survey in German-speaking countries.

Objective To conduct a survey about teaching child and adolescent
psychiatry to undergraduate medical students in German-speaking
countries. Methods A questionnaire was sent to the 33 academic
departments of child and adolescent psychiatry in Germany, Austria,
and the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Results All
departments responded. For teaching knowledge, the methods most
commonly reported were lectures and case presentations. The most
important skills to be taught were thought to be how to assess
psychopathology in children and how to assess families. For
elective courses, the departments reported using a wide range of
teaching methods, many with active involvement of the students. An
average of 34 hours per semester is currently allocated by the
departments for teaching child and adolescent psychiatry to medical
students. Required courses are often taught in cooperation with
adult psychiatry and pediatrics. Achievement of educational
objectives is usually assessed with written exams or
multiple-choice tests. Only a minority of the departments test the
achievement of skills. Conclusions Two ways of improving education
in child and adolescent psychiatry are the introduction of elective
courses for students interested in the field and participation of
child and adolescent psychiatrists in required courses and in
longitudinal courses so as to reach all students. Cooperation
within and across medical schools can enable departments of child
and adolescent psychiatry, despite limited resources, to become
more visible and this specialty to become more attractive to
medical students. Compared to the findings in earlier surveys, this
survey indicates a trend towards increased involvement of academic
departments of child and adolescent psychiatry in training medical
students.