Keele and Oxford top table for producing most psychiatrists
Keele University has been ranked joint first with the University of Oxford for producing the most psychiatrists of any medical school in England.
Keele has had the most graduates progress to a career in psychiatry in the past three years, placing joint first with Oxford University in a new table published by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) this week.
The new figures show that in the last three years, Keele University produced on average more than double the number of psychiatrists than the University of Cambridge. Between 2014 and 2016, 4.3% of medical school graduates from Keele went on to become psychiatrists.
Professor Andrew Hassell, Head of the School of Medicine at Keele University, commented:
“Our course is committed to graduating doctors who are equipped to work as Foundation doctors in the NHS and then to specialise as they see fit. It is gratifying that a significant proportion choose to specialise in general practice and in mental health, both areas of huge need in the UK.”
Reflecting on the mental health training that students receive whilst studying at Keele, Professor Hassell continued:
“The interest in mental health reflects well on the experience that our students receive in mental health placements at both North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare Trust and South Staffordshire and Shropshire Foundation Trust, and we know our partners in these trusts are very pleased with these recruitment statistics. The Keele course is unusual in having mental health placements in two years of the course, allowing students to develop their skills and understanding in mental health as they progress through the course.”
The Royal College of Psychiatrists published the table to encourage English medical schools to take steps to boost their contribution to creating psychiatrists of the future.
Professor Wendy Burn, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:
“We hope the psychiatry league table will be an efficient way to encourage schools to boost their contribution to the psychiatric workforce of the future. We welcome the Government’s vision to place mental health at the heart of the NHS – but this will only ever be possible if more students choose psychiatry.”