bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Stigma towards psychiatry: correlating personal experience with existing literature
Authors: Blake Jack , El-Nimr George 
Published: June 2021

AimsStigma towards psychiatry feels rife within medical school and this extends from university life into clinical placements. Mental health remains an unattractive area of medicine and is frequently regarded as subpar by other specialists. Against existing literature, this study compares the authors first hand experiences over the last five years within medical school to evaluate how representative their experiences of stigma in psychiatry are for the wider community and published literature. The study aims to inform the wider discussion on this topic and offer areas where intervention may yield a better perception and hence uptake of this specialism.MethodLiterature review relating to the topic was completed. Studies pertaining to medical students and/or educators views and experiences of psychiatric medical education and clinical placement were included for discussion. A reflection on the first author's specific experiences to date of psychiatry and his intent to pursue psychiatric career was conducted, with careful reference to existing literature. This allowed validating personal experiences in light of shared experience within the medical community in various national and international settings.ResultArguably, some non-psychiatric clinicians do inadvertently set the scene early in medical school for the stigma that is to be thrust upon students. This builds upon prospective students ranking psychiatry low for satisfaction, prestige and stating it to be a ‘pseudoscience’ or words to that effect. The lack of understanding from junior medical students of the role of the psychiatrist sees them associating psychosocial education as equivalent to psychiatry. This reinforces the idea of psychiatry being grounded in sciences other than anatomy, biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology. On clinical placement, there is little cross-speciality support for those students who want to be psychiatrists and sometimes even lost opportunities for those publically aspiring towards psychiatry. Placements in psychiatry give students a better understanding of psychiatry but this does not seem to significantly change their career aspirations and this is rather defined from the admission stages.ConclusionAfter comparing experience with literature, stigma towards psychiatry appears to be universal. It may be important to consider the types of students who are being attracted to medical school as currently students seem to have an intrinsic disinterest in psychiatry despite later becoming better informed through psychiatric placement. Culture is notoriously hard to change, particularly within medicine. This stigma exists both in the lay and medical communities with early potentially inaccurate lay views of psychiatry being validated and reinforced throughout medical school.
Novel approach to providing child and adolescent mental health education to allied health services
Authors: Foster Michael , Arnold Sally 
Published: June 2021

AimsTo create and deliver a positive educational session for allied health services on prominent child and adolescent mental health conditions. It was hypothesised that delivering tailored teaching sessions on a range of child and adolescent mental health conditions would help improve the knowledge of allied health services. A quiz was administered at the beginning and end to assess the effectiveness of the sessions.BackgroundIn early 2019, a request was made by Staffordshire youth drug and alcohol service for an informal teaching session on prominent mental health conditions experienced by those under 18. The team often encountered the requested conditions but had no role in managing or treating them resulting in weaknesses in their knowledge. There was a strong desire to learn more about what the cause, presentation, diagnosis and management was of these too. An interactive, 60-75 minute session was requested on ADHD, autism, depression, anxiety, emerging emotionally unstable personality disorder, bipolar affective disorder, and schizophrenia.MethodSessions were conducted at the local drug and alcohol service, and at 2 regional social services, in autumn 2019. A 21 question quiz, 3 questions on each topic, was taken at the start and end of each session. The quiz content was covered within the teaching session, as well as time for questions, then marked and converted into a percentage.Result19 quizzes were taken; either by individuals or within pairs. The average score before the teaching was 43%, increasing to an average of 90% after the teaching. The quiz showed good knowledge on anxiety and depression before the teaching, with an average pre-test score of 66%, whereas knowledge on the other topics was less. Post-test scores increased to 100% for most areas, but scores for ASD and bipolar were both 66%.ConclusionFeedback from the sessions was positive and staff across both services demonstrated a significant improvement in their understanding of prominent CAMHS mental health conditions. Further education and a change of approach to teaching is required for autism and bipolar affective disorder, both of which are challenging and broad topics.The pre-teaching results do however demonstrate there is a need for better inter-agency education within teams, as well as reciprocal teaching so that knowledge from different teams can be shared. Further sessions are being proposed for other social services and general practises.
A survey of the level of knowledge and understanding of members of the inpatient team on the role of the physician associate on the general adult psychiatric wards
Authors: Hyland Declan , Uddin Mohammed 
Published: June 2021

AimsPhysician Associates (PAs) are healthcare professionals with a general medical education background, having completed a two-year postgraduate degree. Whilst the number of PAs employed in healthcare trusts continues to increase, the number working in mental health settings remains small.Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust employed two PAs two years ago. In August 2019, a third PA was recruited to work at Clock View Hospital, a general adult inpatient unit.This survey aims to establish what level of understanding different members of the inpatient teams across the inpatient wards have of the tasks PAs are permitted to undertake and those they are not.MethodA survey was designed, listing 37 tasks, e.g. completing an admission clerking. For each task, the participant was asked whether a PA is allowed to complete it or not, with three options provided – “can carry out the task”, “cannot carry out the task” and “do not know.” A score of + 1 was awarded if the correct answer was provided, –1 for an incorrect answer and 0 if the respondent didn't know. The highest possible score for a completed survey was + 37 points; the lowest possible score was –37 points.A sample of survey respondents was identified from the three general adult inpatient wards at Clock View Hospital and the Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), comprising: senior doctors, junior trainees, Ward Manager, Deputy Ward Manager, Band 5 nurse and Assistant Practitioner.ResultTwenty-four members of staff completed the survey – 3 senior doctors, 4 junior trainees, 4 Ward Managers, 4 Deputy Ward Managers, 5 Band 5 nurses and 4 Assistant Practitioners. The respondents were distributed equally across the three general adult wards and the PICU. The highest survey score was 36 out of 37 (a Consultant); the lowest was 18 (a junior trainee). The lowest mean score was variable across the different grades of staff, with Consultants scoring highest at 29 and Assistant Practitioners and Ward Managers both scoring lowest at 25. There was little variability in mean score (only 2 points) across the three wards and PICU.ConclusionThe results from this survey demonstrate that different members of the inpatient team have a good understanding of what tasks PAs are and are not permitted to. There is still a need to provide further education to inpatient staff to ensure they utilise the PA at Clock View Hospital appropriately and that the PA is able to develop his skill set.
Innovative psychiatry medical education initiative: empowering and supervising trainees for future teaching in psychiatry training program establishment in Somaliland
Authors: Handuleh Jibril , Periera-Sanchez Victor , Wolde-Giorgis Daniel Fekadu 
Published: June 2021

AimsSomaliland is a de facto state in the horn of Africa. It unilaterally declared independence from rest of Somalia in 1991. Medical education in Somaliland started in the year 2000.Aim of the study is to explore the feasibility of teaching program for the country by its future potential psychiatry educators. The initiative started in 2019 to seek trainees with interest in academic psychiatry and support them with medical education skills. This is intended to prepare them for leading future teaching roles in both undergraduate and residency/fellowship in psychiatryAmoud University wanted to empower junior doctors at the university to have teaching skills needed to set up residency program. The Somaliland government asked Ethiopian ministry of health to offer psychiatry residency program for general practitioners in Somaliland to have future residency and fellowship in psychiatry. Several psychiatry trainees worked with the visiting professor from the United Kingdom who joined Somaliland medical school as visiting professor in psychiatryMethodThe visiting professor supported the trainee in setting up a psychiatry undergraduate training curriculum in line with Somaliland medical school curriculum. Before the teaching methods were didactic and role play based. The faculty introduced different teaching methods including flipchart, small/large group teaching which was student centered education. Students received a online survey to reflect on psychiatry teaching they received. post course survey was conducted at the end of the teaching to evaluate the teaching initiative.ResultSurvey revealed interesting pattern that students preferred class room based teaching in comparison to online teaching. 90 percent of the attendees showed interest in flipchart teaching compared to didactic model. They expressed increasing understanding of the subject matter when they read and discuss among themselves instead of lectures. 70% of students prefer more clinical teaching compared to online sessions.52% liked the new teaching module compared to the lecturing sytle.ConclusionSupervision of early career psychiatrists to undertake future academic psychiatry roles is an important step in building psychiatry faculty in medical schools. As the case of Somaliland this retains trainees in teaching roles in the future to teach undergraduates mental health courses. The other benefit is empowering them to set up psychiatry training program to close the service delivery gap with skilled psychiatrists in the future. Somaliland plans to set up its psychiatry residency/fellowship programs soon after this initiative.
Burnout and Interventions for Healthcare workers to cope during COVID-19
Authors: Kailey Harnek 
Published: June 2021

AimsHealthcare workers are exposed to both physical and mental demands in the hospital environment; recently intensified by overstretching staff and resources during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Despite healthcare workers banding together, physician burnout is more prevalent than ever before due to emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. Firstly, this poster aims to expose the prevalence of burnout among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Secondly, to highlight the interventions and strategies to help minimise burnout among healthcare workers.MethodI will focus on reviewing clinical trials with a particular focus on healthcare workers affected by burnout within the COVID-19 pandemic timeframe. Therefore, narrowing my search to 20 trials within the past 12 months using the following restricted search criteria: ‘burnout’, ‘covid-19’ and ‘healthcare’. Furthermore, commenting on strategies and interventions to minimise burnout by stretching my criteria to interventions trialled within the last 24 months. This is due to limited data and trial evidence for burnout strategies within the last 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultBurnout is on the rise among healthcare workers across the globe, 47% of healthcare staff are expressing an element of burnout worldwide. With growing concerns of healthcare staff developing long term mental health implications as a result of work-related stress. At present, one third of frontline staff are experiencing depression and distress; which must be addressed. Reviewing recent trials has highlighted a number of successful strategies for approaching burnout including: app technology, talking therapy, staff support and internet-based resources. App-related technology and web resources have shown to be particularly beneficial among recent trials, with limited participation and engagement for support groups/talking therapy.ConclusionA significant rise in physician burnout and distress during COVID-19 has been noted in various trials. Interventions specifically related to burnout within COVID-19 are limited due to a low yield of completed trials; however, a couple of trials have found an improvement in COVID-19 related stress among healthcare workers using app-related technology. Internet based intervention is cheap, widely accessible and a non-judgemental method for seeking help, especially within a profession where burnout is heavily stigmatized.
School mental health best practices institute; capacity building of teachers in mental health literacy in Pakistan
Authors: Khan Maria , Chachar Aisha Sanober , Ali Wamiq , Mian Ayesha 
Published: June 2021

AimsMental health disorders in children are largely unrecognized in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan. Teachers, due to their interactions and time spent with children, are important elements in promoting child mental health. Despite this, little importance is given to school mental health (SMH) in the country, and teachers’ training in SMH is almost non-existent. With less than ten child and adolescent psychiatrists, recruiting teachers is vital to provide mental health care to children and adolescents, the majority of the country's population. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a SMH training intervention for teachers in Pakistan.MethodA 3-day training intervention was planned for school teachers in collaboration with International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions. The School Mental Health curriculum by the World Health Organization and Stan Kutcher's Mental Health Literature were adapted after literature review and discussions with experts, and administered as Blended Learning. The intervention was evaluated using pre-workshop, post-workshop and overall feedback surveys. SPSS 25.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA) software was used for descriptive analysis. For open ended questions, central themes were identified, tabulated, and analyzed descriptively.ResultA total of 63 participants registered for the workshop. The participants’ mean age was 36.0 years, with 86% women and 14% men. Participants were mostly teachers, however, principals, administrators and counsellors also attended. Participants’ reasons for attending were that they wanted to ‘increase their knowledge’ and learn ‘practical management’ of mental health issues. When asked about student wellbeing, 43% participants said it was a neglected area. Overall, 86.9% of participants felt the objectives were met well or very well and 87.61% stated there was adequate time for discussion. In addition, 90.47% participants responded that facilitators explained concepts well and 94.39% said facilitators answered questions well. Half of all Blended Learning activities were viewed by more than 50% of participants. Activity views decreased by 63.41% from the pre-workshop activities to day 3 activities. Improvements suggested by participants included taking a more problem-solving approach and focusing on the local context.ConclusionEvidence-based SMH interventions that train teachers are much-needed in the local resource-constrained settings. This intervention met its objectives effectively, however, Blended Learning was not well-received. We have studied learning analytics and identified the potential learner's profile of teachers as students. Adult learning principles should be implemented in future endeavours. This is a flagship project for future international collaborations between mental health professionals for cross-cultural knowledge exchange.
Where's the emergency? Improving emergency psychiatry experience for core trainees in Bath and North East Somerset (BaNES) and Gloucestershire Health and Care (GHC) localities
Authors: Nutting Tom , Stuart Sally , Hill Francesca 
Published: June 2021

AimsThe Royal College of Psychiatry advises that core trainees should be involved in 50 first-line emergency assessments during their core training. This includes assessment of suicidal risk following self-harm at least monthly. Trainees in Bath and Gloucester are not meeting these requirements. We set up an emergency experience rota, with the aim of increasing trainees’ experience and confidence in assessment and management of emergency psychiatry.MethodAn emergency experience rota was implemented in Bath in September 2017. Trainees were surveyed before and after their 6 month rotations. In cycle 1, trainees spent two weeks with the Crisis team and an additional three days with the Liaison team per rotation. In cycle 2, we made some modifications to the rota so that it was more flexible. This system was then adopted in Gloucester where trainees were encountering similar difficulties. We hope to complete cycle 3 across the two localities by July 2021.ResultFrom the initial two cycles conducted in Bath, post-change surveys showed an increase in trainees’ confidence in assessments in acute settings and completing risk assessments in cases of self-harm and suicidal ideation. All of the trainees who took part would recommend the experience to other trainees (100% (7/7)). In Gloucestershire, only pre-change data have been collected so far. A full analysis of all the results will be presented.ConclusionThe introduction of working time regulations such as the European Working Time Directive (2003) as well as local service reconfigurations leading to nurse-led liaison services and home treatment teams, have reduced the opportunity for trainees to undertake emergency assessments. Across the Severn Deanery, there is a discrepancy in the opportunity core trainees’ have to undertake emergency assessments – depending on their rota, stage of training, and services available. This difference in trainee experience, depending on locality, has been further impacted by COVID-19 and the introduction of cohorted wards.Trainees in Bath and Gloucester are predominantly covering the wards during on-calls and, therefore, we set out to ensure that they are regularly rostered to obtain emergency experience, helping them meet their core training competences. Initial results from two cycles of an emergency / out-of-hours experience rota suggest increased experience and confidence in first-line emergency assessments, enabling them to work towards meeting their core training requirements.
West Midlands region less than full time training survey
Authors: Parkinson Eleanor , Hynes Fiona 
Published: June 2021

AimsTo more fully understand the training experience of less than full time (LTFT) trainees working in psychiatry in the West Midlands Region with the aim of identifying areas that would improve the training experience.BackgroundLTFT training has grown in popularity since its formal introduction in 2007. The greater participation of women in medicine and generational changes in lifestyle expectations are some of the factors behind this trend. Approximately 13% of psychiatry trainees in the UK are training LTFT, bringing the benefit of allowing trainees to balance caring responsibilities or health conditions with continuing their postgraduate training. However it is not without its challenges for trainees which we aimed to explore in this survey.MethodAn electronic survey was sent out to all trainees via email, LTFT trainees of all training grades were invited to respond. Trainees were contacted in the five mental health trusts making up the region. The survey contained 32 questions that covered a range of topics including educational opportunities, perceived attitudes to LTFT trainees and training experience. Data were collected over a six month period in 2019. There were 22 responses to the survey region-wide.Result86% of respondents were working reduced sessions in full-time posts with implications for their clinical workload and 14% responded that their clinical contact time was not adjusted to reflect their working hours. 36% of respondents experienced difficulties attending their formal teaching programme while 82% had attended educational commitments on non-working days. 14% of respondents felt training LTFT did not allow them to meet training requirements while 23% would not recommend LTFT training in the West Midlands to others. Trainees cited difficulties managing a full time workload and not having support from supervisors as reasons for these views. 40% of respondents reported experiencing negative attitudes from seniors and 50% felt isolated from other trainees due to LTFT training status.ConclusionThe survey has developed our understanding of the challenges faced by LTFT trainees and it has been communicated regionally and to employing trusts to promote action. For example, at a trust level, the use of personalised work schedules can address some common difficulties. More effectively communicating sources of support to trainees, sharing best practice and providing networking opportunities are suggested as next steps regionally. New administrative processes to maintain an accurate list of LTFT trainees is vital in implementing this. Improving the information given to trainers is another development area.