#ChoosePsychiatry #the60secondchallenge – a thematic analysis of videos published on Twitter about reasons for choosing psychiatry

Abstract

Aims and Method #ChoosePsychiatry is the Royal College of Psychiatrist's social media campaign aimed at medical students and foundation doctors to encourage recruitment into psychiatry. This study explored the reasons given for choosing psychiatry in videos uploaded by psychiatrists to Twitter alongside the campaign, through the use of thematic analysis. Results Each psychiatrist gave different reasons for choosing psychiatry but four main themes were identified: prior experience of psychiatry, career factors, patient factors and knowledge factors. Both undergraduate and postgraduate experiences were influential in choosing psychiatry. In particular, perceived job satisfaction, an opportunity to deliver holistic care and a sense of making a difference were also influential in choosing psychiatry. Clinical Implications Findings here support efforts to improve the undergraduate experience and to increase foundation posts, as well as maintaining some of the current key messages of the campaign. However, whilst engagement with the videos on Twitter was observed, further consideration of the most appropriate social media platform to ensure engagement with the target audience is needed.

Closing Editorial: New insights and reflections on the science of selection and recruitment

“…Following the theme of new technology, several papers in this issue demonstrate how social media can be especially advantageous for attraction and outreach in recruitment (e.g. use of videos on Twitter for psychiatry recruitment ( Cunliffe et al, 2018 ) and use of live web chats for school leavers; ( Garrud et al, 2018 ), in addition to offering more efficient approaches to delivering selection methods (e.g. piloting asynchronous MMIs in medical school admissions; Zibarras et al, 2018).…”

“… Barajaz et al, 2018 ; Parsons et al, 2018 ) where many specialties face significant workforce shortages (e.g. Psychiatry; Cunliffe et al, 2018 ). The problems are compounded in certain contexts where workforce shortages can be especially acute in remote and rural locations (e.g.…”

“…Most of the previous literature has tended to focus on evaluations of medical school admissions and it is refreshing to see an increasing focus on postgraduate recruitment ( Barajaz et al, 2018 ), dealing more with attraction issues ( Cunliffe et al, 2018 ), especially in those specialties where there are workforce shortages. In addition, new topics are emerging including issues regarding self-selection and analysis of person-organisation fit as part of recruitment ( Rothstein et al, 2018 ) and using selection tools for educational purposes in addition to making selection decisions ( Gardner and Dunkin, 2018 ).…”