Sotoodeh Abhary | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

An interdisciplinary course for trainee psychiatrists: feedback and implications.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a course for trainee psychiatrists, designed to encourage critical thinking within an interdisciplinary framework. Trainees' responses to the course, and the implications of these for teaching, learning and clinical practice, are considered. METHOD: Trainees were interviewed, and their responses subjected to content analysis. RESULTS: To some extent, the course appears to have met its objectives. However, some trainees found parts of the course content threatening, and reported negative perceptions of teaching staff and the process of critical appraisal. CONCLUSIONS: Challenging taken for granted beliefs in psychiatry is a fundamental skill, which should be fostered in trainee psychiatrists if the profession is to move forwards as an intellectual and clinical discipline. The lessons learned from the course we describe may be useful to others who wish to pursue integrated, interdisciplinary teaching methods.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed2004

Psychiatric aspects of detention: illustrative case studies.

OBJECTIVE: Although the two political systems cannot be equated, the psychiatric and psychosocial issues raised by people detained under the migration regulations of the present Australian government, and those detained under the security legislation of the last apartheid government in South Africa, are similar in many aspects. METHOD: We present two case scenarios representative of the cumulative clinical experience of the authors in their work (as part of their routine clinical practice and medical school experience) with asylum seekers and political detainees in acute psychiatric units in both South Africa and Australia. RESULTS: Similar issues raised included the validity of a psychiatric diagnosis in these patients and the debate this conundrum provoked among the multidisciplinary teams. The pressures placed on clinicians by politicians in terms of clinical management of hospitalized detainees raised similar ethical questions across both countries. The clinical syndromes of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder were similar. The effect of the 'non-person' status conferred upon refugees by the 'temporary protection visa' could be equated with the effect of 'banning orders' imposed on opponents of the Apartheid regime. CONCLUSIONS: In South Africa, political detainees entered into the struggle expecting to face hardship and torture at the hands of the government of the time. Asylum seekers flee to Australia expecting support from a democratic system and generally had not prepared themselves for further incarceration and yet another political struggle. Despite this seemingly fundamental difference, the experiences of detainees across two very different political systems are remarkably similar.

Adult↗