Evaluating the Impact of an Innovative Public Speaking Competition to Promote Psychiatry as a Career Option for Ghanaian Medical Students

• Published in: Academic psychiatry 2019-04, Vol.43 (2), p.180-183
• Main Authors: Agyapong, Vincent I. O., Hrabok, Marianne, Agyapong-Opoku, Gerald, Khinda, Harsimran, Owusu-Antwi, Ruth, Osei, Akwasi, Ohene, Sammy, Ulzen, Thaddeus, Gilligan, Paul
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Advocacy; Careers; Competition; Corporate sponsorship; Ethics; Focus groups; Health education; Health Programs; Health services; In Brief Report; Labor Force; Medical Education; Medical schools; Medical students; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental health care; Mental Health Programs; Physical Health; Physicians; Psychiatrists; Psychiatry; Public speaking; Questionnaires; Specialization; Teaching Methods; Trainees; Urban Schools; Workforce
• ISSN: 1042-9670; 1545-7230
• DOI: 10.1007/s40596-018-0986-3

Objective The psychiatrist workforce has been identified as an area in need of development, especially in low- to middle-income countries. The purpose of this project is to assess the perceptions of Ghanaian medical students of a novel mental health inter-medical school speaking competition on career interest in psychiatry and mental health education and advocacy. Methods The study employed quantitative and qualitative methods in a cross-sectional design. A paper-based survey was administered to medical students from four schools in Ghana, and focus groups were conducted. Results A 52% response rate (545/1041 fifth- and sixth-year medical students from the four public medical schools in Ghana) was achieved. The competition was successful in stimulating interest in psychiatry as a subject (25%) and as a career (14%) and was viewed as serving an important public health and mental health advocacy function (65% and 66% respectively). The competition stimulated interest in students who were undecided or had previously ruled out psychiatry specialization, in both those who had and had not already completed a psychiatry clerkship (23% and 13% before and after completing a clinical rotation in psychiatry, respectively). Overall, 29% of respondents who participated in at least one competition-related activity reported that the competition stimulated their interest in psychiatry, compared to 4% who did not participate in any competition-related activity (Ӽ 2  = 80, p  = 0.0). Analysis of focus group content echoed these themes and highlighted opportunities for improvement. Conclusion The innovative public speaking competition was successful in stimulating interest in psychiatry and furthering mental health education and advocacy. Implications are discussed.