On the 1 February 19, The AUTP held our second conference in Derby. This conference built upon the successful relaunch of the AUTP and was developed as part of our conference series.
It was great to meet so many new faces and see the enthusiasm within the room. It was also exciting to have not just psychiatrists, but exam actors, medical nursing educationalists, nursing colleagues and occupational therapists as part of the conference. This is the start of making the AUTP the home for any professional, with an interest in psychiatric medical education, providing conferences, education, a place to share ideas and network. It was really exciting to start putting this into practice!
The first speaker was the influential Prof
Femi Oyebode, professor of psychiatry at Birmingham University and
author of Sims’ Symptoms in the Mind. He shared his personal journey of
his career in medical education, and thoughts about
what he wished he had known. He gave very interesting insights into the history
and developments of teaching structures e.g. workplace-based placements and now
established formal educational roles for doctors. It was fascinating to hear
how much change there has been in the last few decades.
Following Prof Oyebode, we were lucky to
hear from Dr Hamid Alhaj. Dr Alhaj is a consultant psychiatrist, director of
medical education in Sheffield and also the Director of Research for the National Association of
Psychiatric Intensive Care. He gave us an excellent talk on the importance of medical
leadership and how this interacts with medical education.
Finally, before lunch, the Purple List gave
us a performance of their widely acclaimed play, “A gay dementia venture”.
Apart from being incredibly thought provoking and hard hitting, it is a unique
example of bringing theatre into medical education, as HYMS have done. This
truly innovative new teaching method has received brilliant feedback from
medical students.
After lunch, one of our prestigious AUTP
scholars, Dr Emma Brooks, presented her progress and questions around her project
on running simulation sessions for psychiatric emergency teaching. This
stimulated lots of interesting discussion, ideas and feedback from the room,
including thoughts on use of video simulation and patients with lived
experience. It was great to hear this update and on how the project is taking
form!
Surg Lt Cdr Luke Baker then led a session
on what the delegates want from the AUTP as we develop the charity and continue
the relaunch. This was a great session generating plenty of enthusiasm and new
ideas including: suggestions for engagement; methods of sharing good practice
e.g. displaying posters at conferences; saving a stand at Congress; and linking
with other organisations; to name a few! We will certainly be taking these
forward!
The final session before the AGM, was small
group workshops on how different groups can be used to teach in psychiatry. The
groups were medical students, doctors, allied health professionals and
patients. Each small group discussed the pros and cons, and then presented their
thoughts to the rest of the conference in the form of a 5-minute teaching
session. We enjoyed watching one group put across their discussion points in
the form of role play! The session led to a really interesting and lively
discussion.
We received some initial feedback about
what delegates took away and enjoyed the most…
“Huge passion for education of all health
professionals”
“Networking and learning from others and
the Purple List!”
“Everyone joining in – lively debate”
We are busy working on the next conference
for May or June, so please send us any suggestions and keep checking this
website for more information!
Association of University Teachers of Psychiatry 