SleepSchool2010 a great success

Hi all,
I'm sure those of you who attended SleepSchool2010 on 2 October at The Emporium Hotel in Brisbane, Queensland, found it to be one of our best events to date. At leats that's what the results of evaluation tell us!
Our speakers were fantastic as always, and although it poured outside, and pesky tow trucks tried to abduct participants' vehicles, the day ran without a hitch. A big, big thank you to Dr Curt Cray, Dr David Cunnington and Dr Tony Fernando for making this a fabulous event.

For those of you who did not attend, or if you have not been to our SleepSchool workshops that cover the important area of sleep disorders in psychiatry, we will have a DVD recording of the event available in the next 2 weeks. Please email us at info@cpdformulations.com.au to register your interest.

Many thanks to CSL once again for sponsoring this most valuable (according to participants!) education event for psychiatrists and psychiatry registrars.

Webcast confirmed - Dual disability in the OSCEs

Greetings all,

How many sleeps to the exams? I'm sure some of you know the answer to that one!

We have had a number of requests for education about dual disability, given we often have little exposure to this important topic during our training. So we have now confirmed the details for our first webcast;

Wednesday 29 September at 6.00pm.
CPD Headquarters, 410/91 Murphy St Richmond 3121
Come into the office and join in the OSCE practice and discussion, or log in and watch live.

We are thrilled to confirm our guest examiner, Dr Jennifer Torr, Director of Mental Health, Centre for Developmental Health Victoria, Monash University. Dr Torr is passionate about registrar education and contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. She has presented at conferences and has written widely about this important area of psychiatry.

As always, we will be filming the event for DVD purchase at a later date.

So please register early to support this important event!

email us at info@cpdformulations.com.au

And for the second webcast topic, stay tuned! You should be pretty excited about that one as well!

Happy studying,

The team at CPD Formulations.

Wake up! SleepSchool is fast approaching!

We once again have our bags packed and ready to leave dreary Melbourne for sunny Brisbane to showcase our most popular course for psychiatrists and registrars - SleepSchool!


SleepSchool is our one day workshop that delivers up to date information about sleep disorders and psychiatry. Sponsored by an educational grant from CSL Biotherapies, we will once again be bringing together our team of experts;

• Dr Tony Fernando, NZ
• Dr David Cunnington, Vic, and
  
• Dr Curt Gray, Qld

to educate you about this important area of psychiatry. In addition to an informative lecture series we will run an afternoon session covering OSCE examination preparation, chaired by Dr Curt Gray, Committee for Examinations Member, RANZCP.

So for all you registrars out there asking for extra OSCE practice prior to the October clinicals, join us in Brisbane!

The course is free for psychiatrists and regsitrars, and if you haven't received an invitation, please email us at info@cpdformulations.com.au for a copy.

So, where can you find us?

Venue: The Emporium Hotel, Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Queensland

http://www.emporiumhotel.com.au/

Date: Saturday 2 October 2010

Time 8.30am (registration) until 5pm for registrars, 8.30am to 1pm for consultant psychiatrists.

Includes morning/afternoon tea, lunch and all materials.

See you there,

Best wishes,

Helen and the CPD Team.

Another successful P2P workshop held on the weekend

Greetings to all, and to the participants at our Melbourne workshop on the weekend, apologies once again for our dismal weather!
As the rain pelted down outside, our participants from local and interstate regions worked hard to master the skills needed to interview and present cases with flair.
We modified our agenda this time to reflect the recent changes to the marking proforma, and included an opportunity to write and present a succinct MSE using cases performed by professional actors. This session was rated very highly.
As usual, our participants came along eager to work, and should be congratualted for how far they had already come in their examination preparation. We wish them every success in October!

AND

Keep tuned for updates regarding our OSCE webcasts that will occur in September.
What is a webcast you ask?
Well, its a live video presentation that you can access on your own computer once you register and obtain a password. We will run through two full OSCE stations each night, with 'examiners' present to critique and provide feedback. If you are in Melbourne, you can come into our office and participate. If you aren't, you can watch the tutorial LIVE and type your questions in using your own keyboard, for real time responses. These webcasts were very successful last year and we are committed to developing them on an ongong basis. Its our way to help registrars no matter where they are access quality medical education.
If you would like to learn more, please send an email to info@cpdformulations.com.au.
Keep in touch, and best of luck with your examination preparation!

The team at CPD Formulations.

PS Stay tuned for the launch of our new website offering a more user friendly way to access all our information and resources at CPD. It is due to launch in September. Thanks Con, Aaron and DIG Creative!

Announcing our new course!

You asked for it, you got it!

We have been busy creating our new course to help you get through the RANZCP written exams.

After 3 years of creating and updating our Present2Pass course for the clinical examinations, our Write2Pass course is ready to be launched on 20 and 21 November 2010, in Melbourne, Australia.

Our course will take place over two days, culminating in a mock examination on the Sunday, with results posted back to you after the event. We won't just give you examples of questions, we'll walk through the questions and answers in an interactive and fun environment that enhances learning.

This year, the Christchurch writtten examination preparation course will not take place so diarise our course instead.

And if you are interested in coming on board as a facilitator or curriculum development committee member, please let us know at info@cpdformulations.com.au.

Please let all your colleauges know who are in first or second year, and might not have heard about CPD Formulations

Best wishes,

The CPD Team.

Dr Schultz to present at the 2010 Prevocational Medical Education Forum

We have just been notified that Dr Helen Schultz will be presenting at the 2010 Prevocational Medical Education Forum, to be held in Melbourne from November 7 to 10, 2010. Helen will present findings taken from 3 years of training local and international medical graduates and will discuss how the training needs for these two groups differ. This will hopefully generate discussion on how clinical schools, teaching hospitals and colleges should address the requirements of each group of doctors. Helen has been passionate about supporting this crucial area of the medical workforce for a number of years.
If you are an international medical graduate, and have met Helen through attending the Present2Pass courses, we'd love to hear from you. We would love to compile a short showreel of interviews with IMGs discussing the unique challenges they face. Please contact us on info@cpdformulations.com.au if you would like to be involved anonymously or on interview.
For more information on the forum, follow the link below;

http://www.pmcv.com.au/forum-home

Best wishes,
The CPD Team

Off and racing??

So it's clicked into August, and that means the last month of winter, and one month closer to the second round of the RANZCP clinical examinations for 2010.
We have had a lot of response from registrars, pre and post exams about the recent pass rates and their concerns about sitting while these appear low. Our advice has been consistent and measured. When you choose to sit the clincial examinations is entirely up to YOU; not the teaching hospitals, not your colleagues, but when you and your support crew decide you are ready. It may be because you want to get them done before starting a family (like me), or before you pursue a break from training (also me). This is your race, and you need everything in place to give you the best chance of success.
Need some help or one on one coaching? I have been getting busy with appointments for exam coaching and our courses are filling up as well. We have a few vacancies left for the our next Present2Pass course in Melbourne on 14 and 15 August. Come along and meet some fellow registrars from around Australia and New Zealand!

ECE results are disappointing

Hi there,
Our watchful eye has been tuned to the college website to see how the exemption candidates fared with changes to the marking criteria, after the local candidates results in May 2010 came in at around 47%. We're sad to see the result for the June 2010 ECE exam to be 31%, the lowest ever since the exemption candidates had their own exams to sit. Not only that, most of the candidates that failed, failed both their OCI and OSCE, which differs from the local candidates recently, many of which have to only resit the OCI.
For those of you that got through, well done, stellar effort and may you go on celebrating for weeks to come. For those of you who need to resit, take stock and be proud of your hard work and achievements. Let us know if there is anything we could do differently at CPD. We are already planning to make sure our courses have even more assistance with preparing the mental state examination. In the past, registrars were mostly concerned about formulating cases, but this seems to have changed with the recent changes to the marking criteria.
If you had a good/bad/otherwise experience regarding the ECE exams, reply to this blog, and get a discussion going. We wnat to know about your experiences.
Take care, and best regards,
Helen

Present to Pass participants nears 100!

Hi all,
I'm wondering how the vibe is out there, after the recent exam results in May 2010. We heard back from a lot of our strong candidates who passed the OSCE but now need to resit the OCI. Now that the dust has settled, I'd love to hear how people are prearing to move forward, and if they have decided to sit again this year or wait to 2011.
We have our three courses for Present 2 Pass beginning to fill up. It's so exciting; this round we will enrol our 100th participant! If that is you, we will be awarding you with a lovely gift voucher to spend on your self, as well as a suite of all our training DVDs.
WE have post up two dates for our OCI refresher series; a one day workshop which will be entirely different from P2P, and designed for those who need to re sit the OCI. Come along for lots of practice and feedback on performance, with the new marking criteria in mind.
And stay tuned; we have something very special to launch for all of you that have been asking for a course to help prepare for the writtens!
If you need further information, please call Georga at our office on (03) 9427 8176 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (03) 9427 8176      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (03) 9427 8176      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              (03) 9427 8176      end_of_the_skype_highlighting or email at g.oneill@cpdformulations.com.au
Once again, best wishes for your exam preparation!
Take care,
Helen

May 2010 RANZCP exam results

I have just had a look at the latest results for the RANZCP clinical exams, as I always do, to see how the registrar group has fared. It is disappointing to see a pass rate below 50% when I know how hard all the attendees at this round of P2P studied and prepared. I wonder how much of this is the changes to the new marking structure; I am sure a drop of around 15 % in the average pass rate can not be solely attributed to problems with the registrars who sat the exams. Hoping those who failed only have to do the OI next time.
Let me know what you think,
Best wishes,
Helen

Sunk by Sims?

Do you feel sunk by Sims and a Fish out of water when it comes to preparing and presenting a mental state examination?

The mental state examination is the physical examination equivalent for psychiatric patients, and as such psychiatrists in training are assessed on how well they can prepare and deliver one. Recent changes to the RANZCP clinical examination marking proforma mean that the mental state examination component of the OI presentation is now assessed formally and worth 20% of the marks. In addition, failing this component of the examination means a fail in the OI (observed interview).

But many psychiatrists in training learn how to do a mental state examination, and identify phenomenology from textbooks rather than clinical teaching. When we asked Dr Jon-Paul Khoo, a consultant psychiatrist and educator in Brisbane to speak to a group of registrars at our recent P2P dinner meeting on the subject of the MSE, the feedback was excellent. Dr Jon-Pail Khoo was able to discuss terminology, provide examples and discuss fatal flaws when presenting the MSE.

We have now made available the DVD of this most valuable and informative discussion.

And what about the new changes to the RANZCP clinical examination?

At the recent P2P dinner meeting, Dr Curt Gray, chair for the committee for examinations presented information about the format of the OI (formerly the OCI) and the OSCE, providing useful information of how to approach both components of the clinical examination. Once again, this presentation was valuable for registrars preparing for the clinical examinations, and provided an approach for dealing with the examinations on the day.

Both DVDs are now available with the Power Point slidesb from our website.

Present to Pass® off to a flying start for 2010!

Thanks to the expertise of Dr Prem Chopra as our resident examiner, a great group of keen talented registrars and tremendous acting skills displayed by our resident ‘patients’ the first Present to Pass course for 2010 was a resounding success.

The feedback showed all the participants enjoyed the course and rated it as valuable; all endorsing the program by telling us they would recommend to their colleagues.

It is always so pleasing to see how hard registrars train for the RANZCP clinical examinations and how determined they are to pass the OCI and OSCE. Eight keen registrars from across Australia and New Zealand came together to share their skills and learn in a relaxed, interactive manner. We wish them every success in May and June.

Olivia Hanlon-Stokes, our resident stylist, led a session on Sunday morning that was captivating and valuable for all. Each candidate was given personal feedback on their image and style, and tips on how to present professionally for the exams. We hope to have footage of this session in the near future so others can learn from her tips.

Our graduates will receive a DVD copy of their performance, along with the group, by early next week. We hope they watch their performance and continue to improve on their presentation skills.

And finally, we hit the road next week after 2 months of preparation for our inaugural meeting in Brisbane. An event not to be missed and already proving popular, mainly because of the calibre of speakers on the night. Dr Curt Gray will give feedback about changes to the OCI marking proforma, and Dr Jon-Paul Khoo will lead an interesting discussion about phenomenology. And we have one of our expert actors briefed and ready to perform in our latest OSCE scenario.

Check out www.cpdformulations.com.au for more details!

See you soon,
Helen

Are you aware of the changes to the RANZCP clinical examinations?

Hi all,

Hope the examination preparation is going well for those of you preparing to sit the RANZCP clinical examinations in May.

You may not be aware, but the college has met and made changes to the marking proforma for the OCI component of the clinical examinations, due to take effect in time for the May clinicals. Please refer to http://www.ranzcp.org/fellowship/examinations-changes-and-news.html for the correct information.

The most significant change is the omission of the ‘global rating’ score, which used to attract 30% of the marks. This score was always difficult to quantify, and hence we think it is a good move to remove it. However, that doesn’t mean that your presentation skills are any less relevant.

The ability to synthesise and present a sophisticated mental state examination will be formally tested, rather than fall under other domains such as data synthesis. Hence, this component of the presentation will need to be more polished than ever to attract maximum marks.

How can you learn more about these changes and practice them before the May 2010 clinicals?

1. By attending our Present to Pass 1.5 day workshops, held in Melbourne (see our website for dates). Our first course in a few weeks time is full, and the one scheduled for late March has only 2 spots left, but there are still places at our April course. Come along and participate in a session that focuses on presenting succinct and sophisticated mental state examinations, as well as brush up on skills required for all other domains of the clinical examinations. Our ‘examiners’ on the second day will be focusing particularly on how you present your mental state examinations when you have your opportunity to present a case.

2. Come along to our dinner meeting in Brisbane on 25 March, where Dr Curt Gray, RANZCP committee for examinations member will explain the changes in more detail. Once again, all the information can be found on our website, and places are filling fast. Thanks to Avant for subsiding some of the cost of this event.

Let us know what you think of these new changes by replying to this blog. Happy studying!

Gearing up for the clinical exams

It might just be my imagination, but it seems registrars are getting prepared earlier and earlier for the clinical examinations.

We have almost filled 2 courses for Present to Pass® this year, and it’s only the beginning of February! This year we are running three courses before the May clinicals, which is a good thing as they are sure to fill up soon.

And we have had a great early response from the Queenslanders who are reserving their spot at our inaugural Present to Pass® dinner meeting. For those of you who haven’t heard, we are running a special 3 hour event with dinner in Brisbane on Thursday 25 March 2010, starting at 6pm. We thank Dr Curt Gray and Dr Jon-Paul Khoo for confirming their attendance as speakers on the night, where we will address the clinical examinations, and present a ‘live’ OSCE for comment and discussion. More details can be found on our website www.cpdformulations.com.au, and there are still a limited number of places available.

It looks as if we’ll need to announce a meeting in Perth for later in the year, if the popularity for the Brisbane meeting is anything to go by!

As always, good luck with your examination preparation!

Regards,
Helen

Present to Pass goes troppo!

We are so thrilled to announce that we are putting all our efforts into a special one-off event on Thursday 25 March in Brisbane, Queensland.
We have always been passionate about flexible ways to deliver registrar education to as many people as possible, and are aware that it is a big commitment to fly interstate to attend courses. So we are going to complement (not replace) our Present to Pass® courses with a special one-off dinner meeting to be held on Thursday 25 March, 2010, in Brisbane.
We have met quite a few Queensland trainees as they have attended Present to Pass®, viewed us on line during our webcast series and attended SleepSchool© last year at Custom’s House, Brisbane. This is our chance to meet more and offer some practical tips and advice about how to get through the RANZCP clinical exams.
Our chairperson will be Dr Curt Gray, RANZCP college examiner and member of the examinations committee. Dr Gray is a CL psychiatrist from the Gold Coast.
We also aim to offer an interactive component to the evening, and keep it as informal as possible so you can ask questions.
This evening will be valuable for registrars planning to sit the exams in 2010, as well as trainees in their first and second years, because we’ll address the components of the exam, and offer generic tips for interviewing and presenting cases. However, first priority will be given to candidates planning to sit in 2010.
There will be an attendance fee that will cover dinner, as well as educational materials. We hope to reduce this fee by attracting some external sponsorship, and will keep you posted regarding final cost and venue.
So, please spread the word, and register your interest. We aim to cater for about 40 registrars and imagine that places will fill quickly.
And for those of you training in WA, we aim to come and visit in the coming months, as Present to Pass® goes West!
Take care and let us know how you’re going with exam preparation,
Helen

Exam success for RANZCP exemption candidates!

It has been so pleasing to hear from our recent graduates of Present to Pass® who achieved success in the RANZCP clinical exams in November 2009. A number of graduates had attempted to pass the exams on a few occasions, and did let us know that tips they learnt at our workshops helped them with preparation and on the day.

We are so thrilled to hear the good news, and will continue to ask for feedback to ensure that our course remains valuable for registrars.

We are also developing a new program for surgical registrars sitting the FRACS clinical examinations. We know that presentation skills and anxiety management training is relevant to all registrars sitting oral exams, regardless of specialty.
So if you know of any surgical registrars who might like to take part in our courses, please forward this on, and invite them to join our database. That way, we can ensure they are notified when the dates are set.

Happy New Year to All

On behalf of all the team at CPD Formulations we thank you for your support of our programs, and look forward to seeing you in 2010.

Things have moved quickly this year; we have had a number of successful program launches and many thanks for coming along and participating.

And on another note, we were robbed on Christmas Eve, not a lot taken as we do not have cash or drugs on the premises, but a big shake up for us on the eve of the festive season. We hope the perpetrators are caught as they caused a great deal of damage to other offices as well.

Anyway, we plan on putting all this to one side in order to continue creating quality medical education in 2010 and beyond (that’s after a bit of a break!).

As always, very best wishes, and keep in touch,
Helen