Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Psychiatry 1735-4587 8 1 2013 03 15 37 43 Homayoun Amini Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran ; Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Ali-Akbar Nejatisafa Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Psychiatry and Psychology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Saeed Shoar Development Association of Clinical Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Hosein Kaviani Department of Psychiatry, Roozbeh Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Departments of Psychology, University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK Mehdi Samimi-Ardestani Departments of Psychiatry, Imam Hosein Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Amir Shabani Departments of Psychiatry, Mental Health Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sara Esmaeili Development Association of Clinical Studies, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Yasaman Moghaddam School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2015 10 14 Objective: We aimed to compare the medical students' attitude towards psychiatry before and after psychiatry clerkship, and to examine the association of choosing psychiatry as a future career with some personal characteristics. Method: In a self-controlled, quasi-experimental study, all of the medical students entering the psychiatry clerkship in three major medical schools of Iran located in Tehran (Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, and Iran University of Medical Sciences) were asked to participate anonymously in the study on the first and the last 3-days of their psychiatry clerkship. From 346 invited 4th-5th year medical students, 225 (65%) completed anonymous self-report questionnaires before and after a 4-week psychiatry clerkship. Results: Positive response to choose psychiatry as a career was seen in 13.3% and 18.3% before and after psychiatry rotation, respectively. However, the difference was not statistically significant; about one-quarter of the students were turned on to psychiatry and 25% were discouraged during the clerkship. Individual pair wise comparisons revealed significant improvements only in two out of 13 measured aspects of psychiatry. Seventeen out of 38 (47.7%) students who identified psychiatry as the career of choice or strong possibility reported that one of their family members or close friends' mental illness had an impact on their choice. Those students who considered psychiatry as the strong possibility claimed that they are more interested in humanities (OR = 2.96; 95% CI: 1.17, 7.49), and playing a musical instrument (OR = 2.53; 95% CI: 1.15, 5.57). Conclusion: It may be concluded that exposure to psychiatry clerkship could influence medical students' opinion about psychiatry positively, or negatively. Personal characteristics and individual interests of students may play an important role in choosing psychiatry as their future career. https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/view/200 https://ijps.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijps/article/download/200/196