The Current Level of Psychodynamic Knowledge of Candidates for the Canadian Certification Examination in Psychiatry

Abstract

Candidates at the certification examination in psychiatry of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada are noted by the author to have a lesser degree of psychodynamic sophistication than might be expected of psychiatric specialists. To test this hypothesis a number of sample questions were administered to examinees and their answers suggest that they do indeed perform less well than might have been hoped. It is argued that the examination procedure may be a legitimate instrument for rectifying this situation.