School of Young Psychiatrists
The recipients of the UEMS Section of Psychiatry Excellence 2023/2024 Award share a few words on the School of Young Psychiatrists initiative.
The School of Young Psychiatrists was established in February 2020, just before COVID-19 epidemy, in response to the existing gaps in the specialization program and the need to flexibly adapt it in lane with everchanging mental health-related needs of the population (pandemic, war in Ukraine).
It is based on 2-day interactive meetings, the program of which is built and shaped by the community of young psychiatrists in Poland: they choose the topics, the form of classes (e.g. case studies workshops), the city of the meeting, and the lecturers; this is one of the few bonding and networking opportunities across the country for young doctors. Thanks to obtaining different educational grants, last year the formula was extended to thematic meetings and scholarships were offered to participants from Ukraine.
The School of Young Psychiatrists is a cyclical event scheduled at least twice a year with a varied formula (virtual, hybrid, stationary) and various topics aimed at improving knowledge (including special thematic events, e.g. preparation for the national specialization exam with the participation of examiners and a Polish national consultant in the field of psychiatry) and clinical skills of young psychiatrists through active participation in clinical brainstorming sessions, lectures and workshops with the most important Polish experts in the field of clinical psychiatry and psychopharmacology invited.
All the topics covered during every singular event are decided in a participatory process through participants and members of the wider network created around the project: from psychiatric treatment of patients with somatic comorbidities or pharmacotherapy of anxiety, through addiction disorders, diagnosing ADHD in adults, changes introduced in the ICD-11 classification, sexual disfunctions assessment in the psychiatrist’s office, mental health care for pregnant people, antipsychotics’ combinations in the treatment of psychoses (to list some of the topics).
Participation fee, accommodation and meals are always fully covered for all participants as we understand the need to align the chances of participation also for doctors from smaller centers and rural areas. For this reason, the venue of the event is variable and is decided by the participants themselves.
The School of Young Psychiatrists is organized as a part of the voluntary work of members of the Section on Specialization Training of the Polish Psychiatric Association. The quality of the event and its reputation, which has had 10 editions so far, can be proven by the speed of the registration process. Recently it takes a couple of hours from the announcement of the event to the closing of the reserve list.
We believe that in this way we can provide the highest standard of care for people affected by mental health problems through training and medical education tailored to the needs that arise here and now, going beyond the basic requirements for trainees.
Anna Rewekant and Anna Szczegielniak, Section on Specialization Training of the Polish Psychiatric Association
