When size does matter

Greetings from the APA, in San Francisco!

I’ve managed to avoid the scientologists at the front door of the Moscone Centre, who believe psychiatrists are “Agents of Death” as per their placards. I listened to the presidential address which answered critics from the New York Times, who reported last year that there was a very unhealthy relationship between the America Psychiatry Association and the pharmaceutical industry.

And then I witnessed the most amazing thing. Not a single promotional item in sight in the exhibit hall, and no pharmaceutical branding or items in the conference satchel. No giveaways, no pens, no nothing. In fact, the only resource the pharmaceutical companies had to promote their wares were the biggest trade displays I have ever seen. Things were so bad that I had to write notes from the sessions on the one piece of paper available in the hotel room.

Has this gone too far? I personally think it has. I do believe that there is something wrong in taking money from the companies to sponsor the event with nothing in return. And I think it is blatantly stupid to suggest that doctors are influenced by what pens they have on their desks.

So if these things are not supplied and this is the step the APA has taken, then surely they could have put a couple of pens and a notepad in the satchels. And it would have been nice to have meals provided throughout the day; there was no food served at all. And it wasn’t cheap to get here. I paid $250 AU per workshop on top of my registration fee of almost $1000. The full day workshops did not include any food either.

What do you know about HIV psychiatry?

This is a really big area of psychiatry in America, and there are alarming trends regarding the rise of HIV and the presence of psychiatric illness in people as they live longer with HIV. In particular, the combination of HIV and methamphetamine use is attracting much interest. Our HIV summit in February explored key areas of HIV psychiatry including neurodegenerative disorders, major depression and substance use. We hope to be delivering a similar summit in 2010.

Behind the scenes...

Tonight we filmed the first in our series of 'tips for success' videos at our Richmond office which will soon be available on our website.

Our research has shown that in addition to our face to face courses many of those preparing for exams would like to be able to access more of our content in an online environment. Based on this feedback we are preparing a full library of training videos which will draw on our extensive knowledge base of presentation skills, interviewing techniques and much more.

Also, if you are a psychiatry registrar be sure to visit Alyssa at the CSL stand at the ANZCP conference in Adelaide for your free USB which will have some great content on it to help with your exam preparations including tips for interviewing patients and a relaxation exercise.

Present to Pass - July 2009

We are already thinking about registrars sitting the October clinical and have opened registration for Present to Pass in July and August. Details on our website. So far we have registrars coming from WA, NSW and NZ. Don’t miss out on a spot, and as our feedback continually shows, it is really very rewarding to meet colleagues from other states and countries.
We are also planning for our second round of P2P OSCE series, and developing case material for 4 more sessions due to run in September 2009. We will cover the following clinical domains; Old age, Forensic, Consultation Liaison Psychiatry, and eating disorders. Remember, you can still access our archives of the first round held in March and April, where we explored the topics of mood, psychosis, anxiety and dual diagnosis. Visit our website for further details.

SleepSchool© feedback from the RACGP: Glowing praise!

A very big thank you to Alyssa Milton, our Marketing and Creative director. The College of GPs were thrilled at the quality of our recent SleepSchool© workshops, and in particular the delivery of education regarding this area to GPs. We will continue to deliver programs of similar quality. If you have an area of clinical medicine you would like to hear more about, let us know!

APA 2009: Only 2 weeks to go!

I am so excited about heading off to San Francisco in 2 weeks for the APA (American Psychiatric Association) meeting. With over 30,000 delegates, it has been described as the Olympics of Psychiatry! Not even a global pandemic will keep me away!

Has the swine flu been added to your list of things that can go wrong before the clinical exams?

We sincerely hope you are finding your anxiety techniques of some benefit as you count down to the May clinical exams in Brisbane.

Some trainees report poor sleep and some nightmares in these last few weeks; this is normal but remember to use what you can at present to help you remain as calm as possible. A degree of anxiety is necessary at this stage to perform at your best, but not enough to disarm all these weeks of preparation.

Be sure to factor in some relaxation time if possible when you arrive in Brisbane - it is a fantastic city to walk around so take advantage of the river and its parks and great restaurants like you'll find at Southbank.