summary
Since October 2006 the specialist training for house officers in psychiatry in the province of North Holland has started with a one-week intensive induction course. The course has been designed to facilitate the transition to specialist training and to provide trainees with the tools they need for dealing with psychiatric emergencies. Fifteen house officers, divided into three focus groups, were asked for their views on the course. They gave the course a high rating and stated that it had had a positive effect on group-bonding and functioning in their subsequent training.