Contrasts in the professional identities of psychiatrists and internists

Projected manpower shortages in psychiatry have prompted studies identifying factors that influence medical students in career choice. In the present study, the authors compare self-images as individuals with professional images of psychiatrists using subjects from internal medicine as a control group. A total of 353 subjects from two university clinical practices completed questionnaires that utilized the Osgood Semantic Differential to determine attitudes in the areas of evaluation, potency, and activity. The hypothesis that psychiatrists differ significantly in their self-images as individuals and their professional role images was partially confirmed. In the areas of activity and power, significant (p less than .001) differences existed in their attitudes. In the concept of evaluation, the self-images and the professional images were similar. The impact of these discrepancies on students making career choices is discussed.