The recruitment legacy of COVID-19

'Choose Psychiatry' goes virtual: experiences and learning from the online 2020 National Psychiatry Summer School

AIMS AND METHOD

COVID-19 has forced many educational events to go 'virtual'. We report on the first online student-run National Psychiatry Summer School (NPSS). Evaluation of the online format and content was undertaken through survey feedback from almost 400 attendees.

RESULTS

The NPSS positively affected attendees' perceptions of psychiatry as a career choice. The virtual format was positively received, with benefits including breaking down traditional barriers of geography and cost.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Post-COVID-19, a hybrid future of mixed virtual and face-to-face events is likely. Our work shows the viability of this and unique gains it might offer, and offers experiential learning on challenges encountered for others who wish to trial further virtual conferences.

COVID-19, medical education and the impact on the future psychiatric workforce

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the UK's National Health Service (NHS) has been transformed to meet the acute healthcare needs of infected patients. This has significantly affected medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate, with potential long-term implications for psychiatric recruitment. This article discusses these ramifications, and the opportunities available to mitigate them as well as to enhance the profile of psychiatry.