Understanding the study habits of Saudi residents in a psychiatry programme

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the way psychiatry residents select, consume, and prioritise their educational resources during their psychiatry residency programme is essential. The purpose of this study was to evaluate Saudi psychiatry residents' study habits during their residency training. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 150 Saudi psychiatry residents were invited to complete an anonymous survey with 18 close-ended statements. The responses were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale. The survey included items about study volume, motivational factors, study resources, study methods, and overall satisfaction with training. RESULTS: We received responses from 121 residents. There were more men (57.9%) than women (42.1%). A larger percentage of residents studied between two and five hours per day (30.6%). A larger proportion of residents did not agree that the psychiatry residency programme had some degree of protected time prior to their board exams (42.2%). The most crucial motivating factor for their study was the final board exam; 28.1% and 35.5% of residents ranked this factor as highly and very highly motivating, respectively. The most useful study resources were books such as Kaplan, Oxford, and Oral Board materials. CONCLUSION: Our study is the first of its kind that provides insight into the study habits of Saudi psychiatry residents. The information can be used to improve the quality of training and medical education of psychiatry residents.