University of Toronto - Department of Psychiatry

ADMINISTRATION & ORGANIZATION

August 8th , 2008

Problems viewing the newsletter? [Click for User Tips]

Submissions are welcome from members of the department. If you wish to submit an EVENT announcement, please provide full details, in a WORD or PDF file. SUBMISSION DEADLINE: THURSDAYS at 5 PM.

Newest Items...

Department

Memo from Dr. Ari Zaretsky, Residency Program Director - Dept. Of Psychiatry - Univ. of Toronto:
New Committee Structure and 2008/2009 Meetings

Events

REMINDER: The event is fast approaching.
Dept. of Psychiatry, Univ. of Toronto:
Summerfest 2008: Register now!
(Event: August 19, 2008)
NOTE: Save the date.
Division Of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry - Hospital for Sick Children:
19th Annual Update In Child And Adolescent Psychiatry: "Current Perspectives On Child And Adolescent Disorders"
(Event: November 13, 2008)

Reminders

Centenary Celebration
Education
Research
Awards
Funding
Opportunities
Events:
Aug-08 | Sept-08 | Oct-08 | Nov-08 | Dec-08

Newest Items...

Department

M E M O:

To:

Postgraduate Coordinators, PGY-1 Residents (2008/2009), Chief Residents

From:

Dr. Ari Zaretsky, Residency Program Director

Re:

New Committee Structure and 2008/2009 Meetings

Dear Colleague,

I am writing to provide you with an update about a very important change that has just transpired in the structure of our residency program since the Postgraduate Education Committee meeting on July 21st. After a long discussion with Sue Glover Takahashi, Dr. Glen Bandiera, Dr. Brian Hodges and Dr. Don Wasylenki, it was concluded that in order for our program to be successful at the next Royal College Accreditation in 2009, our postgraduate education structure must change in order to become smaller and more streamlined. This change was recently ratified by the Postgraduate Education Committee.

In keeping with other Departments in the Faculty of Medicine and broad Royal College Standards of Accreditation, we will create a new structure: the Psychiatry Residency Program Committee composed of the Site Coordinators from all of the larger, adult psychiatry fully affiliated sites. Child psychiatry training will be represented by Dr. John Langley and PGY1 training will be represented by Dr. Susan Abbey. In addition, there will be one representative for the adult partially-affiliated sites and this representative will rotate during the year so that the site coordinator from each of the partially-affiliated adult sites will attend at least once during the year. One non-Site Coordinator educator, Dr. Shari Kirsh, Chair of the Site Feedback Subcommittee, will also serve on the Psychiatry Program Committee. Resident representation at the Psychiatry Program Committee will continue through the PRAT Executive with the expectation that both senior and junior residency years are represented.

The Psychiatry Program Committee will meet monthly ten months every year and will function as an executive body that will oversee all important decisions pertaining to residency training. The Resident Advisor and all important Subcommittees (e.g. the Site Feedback Subcommittee, the Resident Safety Subcommittee, the Supervisor Evaluation Subcommittee, the Resident Evaluation Subcommittee, the Resident Selection Subcommittee, the Curriculum Subcommittee and the Modification of Training Subcommittee) will formally report at least once per year to the Psychiatry Program Committee.

In addition to the smaller Psychiatry Program Committee, we will continue to retain broad input regarding educational issues from the newly established Postgraduate Education Advisory Committee. The Postgraduate Education Advisory Committee will consist of all current members of our current Postgraduate Education Committee (Site Coordinators from all sites, Representatives from the Programs and Divisions, the PRAT Executive, the Resident Advisor and all other postgraduate educators who serve as Chairs on important Subcommittees).

I am very optimistic that this new postgraduate education structure will enhance our program in its capacity to communicate effectively with all important stakeholders and constituencies within our large Department while at the same time retaining the capacity for a small, high performing team to proactively address residency challenges, making key decisions in a timely and effective manner.

Ari E. Zaretsky, MD, FRCPC
Director, Postgraduate Education and Associate Professor
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto
Head, Mood Disorders Clinic and Director, Medical Education,
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Events

[Printable Version]

[Printable Flyer]

Education

No listing(s) at this time.

Research

No listing(s) at this time.

Awards

No listing(s) at this time.

Funding

No listing(s) at this time.

Opportunities

[Printable Version]

RISE Fellowship Description

The R.I.S.E Program (Research, Scholarship and Innovation in Education) of the Department of Psychiatry is pleased to announce the upcoming competition for the R.I.S.E Education Research Fellowship. This two-year fellowship is offered to individuals who have either completed postgraduate training in psychiatry or a related field or to graduate students who wish to specialize in health professional education in relationship to psychiatry. The fellowship is a 2-year training program that aims to provide a solid understanding of major educational issues including curriculum, assessment and evaluation, principals and philosophies of medical education, learning theory, administration, faculty development and other aspects of health professional education. In particular the fellowship will enable the individual to develop a deep knowledge of the application of these areas to education in Psychiatry. A major focus of the fellowship is the acquisition of research expertise in health professional education. The majority of the fellow’s time will be devoted to undertaking a formal graduate program in health professional education leading to a postgraduate degree and to research. This will consist of an original research project in collaboration with established educational researchers at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education or the Institute of Medical Sciences or other graduate department of the University of Toronto. The fellowship is supervised by an Educational Scholar in the Department of Psychiatry and should lead to least one or two publications in a refereed journal as well as one or more presentations at international meetings in health professional education. In addition to the focus on research, an emphasis is placed on the development of teaching skills and educational innovation through participation in the educational activities of the Department of Psychiatry and in the other health professional faculties at the University of Toronto.

Fellows must not undertake more than 15 hours/week of clinical or other non-fellowship related work, or more than 4-hours of teaching per week that is not connected to the primary research project. The R.I.S.E fellow will be provided with appropriate office space, computer equipment and support at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education at the University Health Network. The fellowship provides for a total of $35.000 salary support annually for a period of 2-years in addition to support for conference attendance.

NOTE: The Department of Psychiatry also has significant links with the Centre for Faculty Development. Thus, in appropriate circumstances the RISE fellowship could also be applied to scholarly work over a two-year period with the Centre for Faculty Development either through a Wilson Centre/CFD joint fellowship or entirely at the CFD.

Application Deadline: September 1, 2008

Fellowship Contact:

Brian Hodges, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Director, Research Scholarship and Innovation in Education (RISE)
Department of Psychiatry
c/o University of Toronto, Wilson Centre for Research in Education
University Health Network
200 Elizabeth Street, 1ES- 565
Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4
Tel: (416) 340-3079 Fax (416) 340-3792
Email: brian.hodges@utoronto.ca

[Printable Version]

If you are interested or have expertise in the area of exercise and mental health, there is also opportunity to give a lecture in the course (class time, Fridays 10 am -12 noon, fall 2008)

HMB473 Exercise & Mental Health Course

We are looking for opportunities for our students to provide service in programs where exercise is used to manage mental illness (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease& other dementias;anxiety, bipolar, dissociative, major depressive, personality, stress disorders;drug and alcohol dependence, schizophrenia), provide rehabilitation in chronic physical illness (e.g., arthritis,asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dyslipidemia, fibromyalgia, spinal cord injury), and improve lifestyle(e.g.,age-related - children, adolescents, young people, elderly;eating-related concerns;longevity; overweight &obesity; sleep optimization;smoking cessation).

This community service will form an integral and invaluable component of a new course that will increase understanding of the benefits and impact of exercise on mental health. Our long-term goal is for our graduates to become advocates for mental health.

Our students are in their fourth and final year of a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology. They are selected based on their interest in Health & Disease and Neuroscience, long-term interest in health care, and excellent academic record.

Time Commitments:
Friday September 19, 2008, 10 am to 12 noon; in-class panel discussion
~ Sept 22 to Nov 17, 2008, ~ 2 hours service/week/student (total of 12-18 hours)
Friday November 28, 2008, 10 am to 12 noon, in-class student presentations

Contact information:
Dr. Valerie Watt,
Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine
Director, Human Biology, Faculty of Arts & Science
University of Toronto
Email: teaching.hmb@utoronto.ca

[Printable Version]

[Printable Version]

[Printable Flyer]

The Department of Psychiatry at Women’s College Hospital is offering a one year funded fellowship to MD or PhD candidates seeking advanced training in HIV and women’s mental health.

Applicants must have successfully completed their RCPSC psychiatry specialty examinations and be a member in good standing with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario by the date of commencement of the fellowship. PhD candidates must have completed the requirements of their PhD program prior to starting the fellowship.

The fellowship will include a mix of clinical and academic activities. The specific time allocation is negotiable, but ordinarily, fellows spend at least 75% of their time in scholarly pursuits. Clinical work will focus on women’s mental health and may be spent with any one of the four existing programs in the Department of Psychiatry: General Psychiatry, Mental Health in Medicine, Reproductive Life Stages, or Trauma Therapy. Alternatively, the successful applicant may wish to work jointly between two programs. The academic component of the fellowship will include the design and completion of a research or other scholarly project suitable for publication. Topics for this project should be directly related to the aforementioned clinical themes of the department. Suitable research areas may include: fertility and family planning in persons infected with HIV, HIV and trauma in women, or pregnant women with HIV and mood or anxiety symptoms. Other potential topics can be considered and should be negotiated directly with the supervisor.

Interested candidates may apply for one year of funding beginning July 1, 2009 or another mutually agreed upon date. Internal funding will be subject to the rules of the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry fellowship program. (Please see: http://www.utpsychiatry.ca/ Go to ‘Education’ and scroll down to ‘fellowship program’ for information regarding the program.)

Interested applicants should send a cover letter and CV by January 1, 2009 to:
Pam Kavanagh
Department of Psychiatry, Women’s College Hospital
76 Grenville Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1B2
Email: pam.kavanagh@wchospital.ca or Tel : 416-323-6400 Ext. 4381.

[Printable Version]

New Books and Publications