King's College London's (KCL) Psychiatry Society's ‘Psych for 6th’ programme is an outreach initiative for aspiring medical students in year 12 at sixth forms in South London. The aims of the programme are to raise students’ awareness of mental illnesses; for students to gain a better understanding of the style of learning in medicine through the lens of psychiatry; to widen participation in medicine; and to promote a career in psychiatry.

25 state sixth forms in Southwark and Lambeth were invited to take part in the programme via email. The programme took place at 4 sixth forms for aspiring medical students in year 12 between September to November 2022. The programme involved 2 one hour sessions over 2 consecutive weeks and was run by KCL Psychiatry Society committee members. Session 1 covered the philosophy of health, illness, mental health and mental illness; an overview of the different mental health professionals and how to become a psychiatrist; an introduction to history taking; and an interactive history-taking activity. Session 2 covered the aetiology, pathophysiology, epidemiology, presentation, diagnosis and management of depression; mental health cases; and an interactive psychiatric history-taking activity. Pre- and post-programme questionnaires were sent to the attendees.

The percentage of students considering a career in psychiatry increased by 20% on completion of the programme. The average attendee confidence with talking to patients increased from 2.3 to 4.2 on completion of the programme, with 1 being not confident at all and 5 being very confident. Students gained a better understanding of the different types of mental health conditions psychiatrists manage - “I thought the information about the different [mental health] disorders was very interesting.” In response to “What did you enjoy the most about these workshops?”, 78% of the students commented on the interactive role-play activity where they were given the opportunity to practise taking a history. The programme also gave students a “broader and deeper understanding of what medical school [is like]”.

The sessions were well received by the students with for many of them this programme being their first exposure to psychiatry. KCL Psychiatry Society looks forward to delivering the programme at further South London sixth forms in 2023, working with other university psychiatry societies to run the programme across the UK, and with other mental health multidisciplinary student societies to expand the programme to delve deeper into other mental health careers.