There are concerns in Britain about the recruitment and retention of medical doctors, especially psychiatrists (Commission for Health Improvement, 2003). One potential explanation is that the profession of psychiatry is stigmatised (Reference Mears, Pajak and KendallMears et al, 2004) and neglected - mental health is still the ‘ poor relation’ (Reference Hoadley, Philip and DillonHoadley et al, 2005).

We recently conducted a postal survey of a representative panel of 412 adults who had been involved in a previous study (mean age 47.5 years (s.d.=17.3), 55% female, 42% in paid employment; Reference Luty, Fekadu and UmohLuty et al, 2006). Participants were asked, ‘We want to find out if you admire and respect the people who do these jobs. Give each profession a mark out of 10 from those you most admire (10) to those you least admire (0).’ This was followed by a list of 26 professions. The results indicate that psychiatry is one of the least stigmatised professions, ranking 8th from top of the group of 26 professions. However, psychiatry was ranked lower than other medical professions such as general practitioner (GP), pathologist and nurse.

We feel that recruitment to psychiatry is likely to remain difficult compared with recruitment to other medical specialties. However, we were pleased that psychiatrists still enjoy a rather privileged position in the eyes of the general public. The ranking order of the 26 professions was: fireman, nurse, GP, schoolteacher, soldier, policeman, pathologist, psychiatrist, social worker, farmer, judge, postman, solicitor, computer programmer, dustbin man, bus driver, car mechanic, accountant, secretary, bank manager, butcher, shop member, member of parliament, estate agent, traffic warden and car salesman.