An online survey was used to examine the attitudes of clinical, academic and trainee psychiatrists on the delivery of undergraduate education and why students are not choosing psychiatry as a career. This paper explores whether attitudes to teaching psychiatry to medical students is a factor in poor recruitment to the specialty.

Overall, 390 psychiatrists completed the survey. All groups were highly committed to psychiatry education, but there were significant differences in attitudes that may have an impact on the delivery of medical student teaching, which in turn may influence recruitment. Five major themes emerged from the survey, the most dominant being stigmatisation of psychiatric patients and professionals by the medical profession. These divergent attitudes to teaching and stigma may be contributing to low levels of recruitment into psychiatry.

Education of the next generation of psychiatrists is a high priority and active measures are needed to increase commitment and enthusiasm in undergraduate education.

Crisis resolution and home treatment (CRHT) teams began operating in Edinburgh in late 2008. We ascertained service users' and carers' experiences of CRHT using a standardised questionnaire. We also assessed the impact of CRHT on psychiatric admissions and readmissions by analysing routinely collected data from November 2003 to November 2009.

There was a 24% decrease in acute psychiatric admissions in the year after CRHT began operating, whereas the previous 5 years saw an 8% reduction in the admission rate. The mean duration of in-patient stay fell by 6.5 days (22% decrease) in the 12 months following CRHT introduction, alongside a 4% decrease in readmissions and a 17% reduction in Mental Health Act 1983 admissions. Although the mean response rate was low (29%), 93% of patients reported clinical improvement during CRHT care, 27% of patients felt totally recovered at discharge from CRHT, 90% of patients felt safe during CRHT treatment, and 94% of carers said their friend or relative got better with CRHT input.

Crisis resolution and home treatment service in Edinburgh had a positive impact during the first 12 months in terms of reduced admissions, reduced duration of in-patient stay and reduced use of the Mental Health Act. The service can catalyse a more efficient use of in-patient care. Service users and carers report high rates of improvement and satisfaction with CRHT.

We explored the views of foundation doctors on psychiatry placements to inform further post development. Following criticism of some South Thames Foundation School (STFS) psychiatry placements, STFS staff reviewed existing information on post quality and 21 foundation doctors in psychiatry posts took part in three focus groups.

Trainees are concerned about the general quality of posts (including supervision and induction); isolation of mental health trusts from ‘acute’ trusts; the professional position of junior psychiatrists; and responsibilities related to the Mental Health Act and risk assessment. Requirements for posts to address these issues have been developed and are now being implemented locally.

The conclusions are relevant to the quality management of foundation posts in mental health trusts, responses to the Collins Report (2010) and future recruitment into psychiatry.

To evaluate the effectiveness of two psychodynamic psychotherapy teaching methods, a student psychotherapy scheme (SPS) and participation in a Balint group, in teaching first-year clinical medical students about doctor–patient communication and the doctor–patient relationship. The 28 students, who were randomly allocated to three groups (SPS group, Balint group starting at baseline and Balint group starting at 3 months and acting as partial controls), were rated on a questionnaire testing their knowledge of emotional and psychodynamic aspects of the doctor–patient relationship administered at baseline, at 3 months and at 1 year.

At 3 months, students in the SPS and Balint groups scored higher than the partial control group, the difference approaching significance at the 5% level. At 1 year, participation in either teaching method led to significantly higher scores compared with baseline.

Psychodynamic psychotherapy teaching methods are effective in increasing students' knowledge of the doctor-patient relationship and potentially also improving their communication skills.

We developed material for a lecture hall teaching programme in child and adolescent psychiatry for medical students. Although lecture hall settings are not traditionally seen as conducive to exploring concepts, debating positions and encouraging higher-order thinking, we aimed to integrate these processes into the programme alongside educational theory and teaching strategies. We evaluated student and teacher perception of the new material through questionnaires before and after the introduction of the teaching package.

Six 1.5-hour teaching sessions were prepared. The evaluation study received 133 student and 4 teacher questionnaires on the previous teaching package, and 99 student and 7 teacher questionnaires on the new material. The questionnaires showed that the redesign resulted in significant improvements in various predefined measures, such as clarity and interactivity of the material.

A vivid and memorable teaching programme is essential in shaping students' understanding of the concepts in child and adolescent psychiatry as well as potentially making the specialty more attractive to medical undergraduates.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists recommends that all psychiatrists undertake continuing professional development (CPD) as part of their personal development plan (PDP) and that, for quality assurance, all CPD activity is approved by their peer groups. We conducted a regional survey (Survey I) of consultant psychiatrists attending a regional conference of the College to assess their current CPD practice, and a more detailed national survey (Survey II) into sessional time for CPD and peer group activity of all consultant psychiatrists and staff grade, associate specialist and specialty (SASS) doctors.

The surveys showed some similarities. Survey I (n = 36) showed that 83% of consultants had a current CPD certificate and that consultants experienced significantly more difficulty in achieving their ‘internal’ compared with ‘external’ CPD requirements (39% v. 20%). Survey II (n = 2632) showed that 98% of our sample thought CPD was important for revalidation. Despite this, over 50% had difficulty accessing CPD time regularly in their timetable. In total, 97.4% of consultants and 85.7% of SASS doctors were in peer groups.

A revised CPD policy must give credit to peer group meetings and set out more clearly the distinction between the types of CPD activity psychiatrists undertake. We recommend more robust job planning to enable psychiatrists to fulfil their CPD requirements in the face of competing demands on their clinical time and reducing resource.