Assessing Learning Needs and Career Attitudes of Italian Psychiatry Residents: Results from a National Survey Conducted by the Italian Society of Psychopathology Young Psychiatrists Section (SOPSI-GG)

OBJECTIVE: No data are available about learning needs and career attitudes of Italian Psychiatry Residents (IPRs). Authors aimed to assess such needs through a survey to generate insight for implementing educational programs close to IPRs’ perceived learning needs. METHODS: A 54-item questionnaire was developed in order to investigate career information, educational preference and learning needs of IPRs. A sample of 298 IPRs participated to the survey and was divided into four subgroups according to their location (North, Centre, South and Islands). The subgroups were compared through ANOVA for age and chi-square tests for qualitative variables (including gender and all sub-items of the survey), with Bonferroni post-hoc analysis. RESULTS: IPRs were found to pursue, along with traditional and theoretical training, a quite practical approach, characterized by working groups, discussions on clinical cases and practical interactive sessions. The topics of major interest included: clinical psychiatry, psychopharmacology, psychiatric emergencies, communication and relationship skills (97%, 98.0%, 98.3% and 95.7% of the total sample, respectively). Indeed, a strong need for interaction with healthcare professionals emerged (97% of the total sample). North and Centre IPRs were more involved in Day Hospital activities than residents from South Italy and Islands (p<.001). South IPRs appeared to be more prone to invest for their education than residents from other areas (p<.01). CONCLUSION: Reported findings should be taken into account as a starting point for planning and developing future targeted packages of educational proposals for IPRs and they should stand as a useful pilot study for further investigation in the field.