Substance use history taking by trainee psychiatrists: “There is a tide in the affairs of men…”

Objectives : To investigate the extent and quality of substance use history taking by trainee psychiatrists. Method : A retrospective clinical casenote audit of admissions to an acute inner city psychiatric unit during three randomly selected months. Data on substance use history taking was recorded by means of a specially designed study checklist. Results : In almost three-quarters (45, 73%) of admission episodes trainee psychiatrists had made some mention of substance misuse. However, substance use history taking often occurred subsequent to the initial clinical assessment and varied greatly in quality. Conclusions : The need for a brief, standardised substance use screening questionnaire, easily incorporated into the existing psychiatric interview format is highlighted.