MedFest 2016
Medfest, the medically themed one night film festival exploring medicine and psychiatry, took place in February and March 2016 with events held in RCSI, UCC, UCD, UL and NUIG.
The festival was first brought to Ireland in 2013 by the Trainee Committee of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland (CPsychI) in collaboration with their Trainee colleagues from the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK, who pioneered MedFest in 2011. The success of MedFest’s debut in UCD in 2013 has led to its expansion across five Irish Universities.
This exciting night of film and discussion centred on the theme of “Framing Trauma: Conflict and Medicine”, with this year’s events featuring seven film excerpts which illustrate the interplay between medicine and war. Subjects therein were diverse, ranging from the work of a trauma surgeon in Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the depiction of trauma through film and theatre and healthcare in developing world and conflict zones. Each event featured conversation with a panel of multidisciplinary experts from a wide range of fields such as Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Emergency Medicine and organisations including Medecins Sans Frontiers and Spirasi, the Irish Centre of Care for Survivors of Torture. The films stimulated some very interesting debate and discussion among the panel and the audience alike, with much comment on the unique role of medicine in the military setting as well as the wider impact of conflict on the provision of healthcare and on society as a whole.
See www.medfest.co.uk for further information.