PCS News March 2015
PCS Workshop @ Spring Conference
with Prof Janet Grant
Thurs 26th March, 16:00 – 17.15hrs
“A Practical Guide to Managing Continuing Professional Development in Psychiatry”
Identifying Lifelong Educational Needs for Psychiatrists
Prof Grant is a renowned expert on medical education, particularly CPD. Her book “The Good CPD Guide: A Practical Guide to Managed Continuing Professional Development in Medicine” was published in 2011. This workshop will draw on her experience in the UK and Europe as part of the process of shaping and developing our PCS, balancing the educational needs of the psychiatrist with regulatory safety and function. The focus will be on the individual professional needs of our members in the Irish context. Book into the workshop when you register for the conference.
Hot Topics in Psychiatry
The Hot Topics format – Two Speakers, Two CPD Credits, One Thursday per month – has proven very popular. Further meetings – all in the Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 2 at 6.30pm:
16 April: HIV for the Psychiatrist: An Update – Dr John Cooney
– Mental Health & Deafness: Dr Margaret Du Feu
21 May: Assessment & Management of Adult Eating Disorder Patients in a General Psychiatry Clinic: Dr Caroline Maher
– Assessment & Treatment of Eating Disorders in Children: Prof Fiona McNicholas
18 June: Autism Spectrum Disorders / Asperger Syndrome in Children: Prof Louise Gallagher
– Autism Spectrum Disorders / Asperger Syndrome in Adults: Dr Eimer Philbin Bowman
Full details on www.irishpsychiatry.ie. Bookings: email louise@irishpsychiatry.ie or ring 01 661 8450.
2 External CPD credits per evening
* More Hot Topics meetings to be held in Autumn.
Dr Kathy Spear – Complicated Grief evening lecture. Friday 19th June
Hilton Hotel, Charlemont, Ranelagh, Dublin 6
External CPD will be approved
We are delighted to welcome Dr Kathy Shear who will be in Dublin with the Irish Hospice Foundation in June, and has offered to deliver a lecture for the College of Psychiatrists on Complicated Grief. Details are being finalised and we’ll let you know when booking opens. Dr Shear is Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University School of Social Work. She has developed a composite psychotherapy for the treatment of complicated grief known as CGT, a research-validated treatment protocol, and is author or co-author of more than 200 publications.
See the Meetings & Events list on www.irishpsychiatry.ie for full details of these and all meetings with CPD credits. Let us know if you would like to see any particular topics being covered, or if you would like to organise a meeting in your area.
PCS Year End – 30th April! Log your CPD credits & Clinical (practice)
Audit in your on-line diary.
30th April is the end of the current PCS year.
Log your External, Internal, Personal and Research/Examining/PG Supervision credits, and confirm your participation in a Clinical (Practice) Audit. Reflective notes can be saved for all categories of CPD if you wish, and the Clinical Audit title can also be saved on your diary.
Internal Credits for attendance at College committee meetings, faculty meetings etc.: The College team will soon confirm these by email.
As always, we urge you to keep your diary up to date and plan your CPD / educational activities to ensure you accrue at least the minimum number of credits plus Clinical Audit each year.
Please contact us in the PCS office if you need advice, assistance with logging, or if you are having particular difficulties with accruing CPD credits or Clinical Audit.
PCS and certified sick leave (greater than 3 months) / maternity leave
Medical Council has written to all training bodies, indicating that it is aware that periods of certified illness >3 months and certified maternity leave can impact on a doctor’s ability to meet the requirements of PCS in a particular PCS year. From May 2015 onwards, if either of these circumstances cause a psychiatrist difficulty in meeting the annual requirements of the scheme, the psychiatrist should inform the college’s PCS office. We can then confidentially note the circumstance on your file and have it indicated on your Statement of Participation (by way of a symbol or annotation). This way, where there is a shortfall, there will be an indication of a period of certified leave on your Statement for the year concerned. The doctor should ensure (s)he has the relevant documentation or certification to provide to the Medical Council if audited.
Medical Council Guidance: where PCS annual mimimum requirements are not met.
In their recent communication to Training Bodies, the Medical Council also stated that:“Doctors should always be advised and supported to achieve the minimum targets for accrual of maintenance of competence activities each year. However, where annual minimum targets have not been achieved, in reviewing a doctor’s Statement of Participation, the Medical Council will also take account of the average accrual of credits across a 5 year period before any decision is made regarding further action. It also takes into account any particular circumstances which may be relevant.”
This guidance is welcome and should be of reassurance to doctors who normally meet or exceed the minimum requirements of the PCS, but have difficulties in a particular year.
CPD online learning.
Online CPD is a useful way of accruing Internal and/or External CPD credits, especially during periods when a doctor can’t access their normal internal or external CPD activities. Some websites are approved by this College for CPD (listed below). Credits are usually allocated by the host organisation per completed module. Where the organisation doesn’t indicate the credits for the module, the general rule is 1 CPD credit per hour of learning activity.
If you wish to claim online learning from one of the above websites for CPD, you should ensure you complete any tests at the end of a module and then print off your certificate for the module. You may claim up to 10 External CPD credits per year for online learning, plus a maximum of 5 Internal CPD credits per year.
Can you organise a CPD meeting/event?
We are always pleased to hear from college members, faculties or special interest groups who will work with us to organise educational CPD meetings for our members. We are aware that there are particular areas of interest and gaps which could be filled by offering educational CPD sessions with topical and relevant speakers and material. Please contact us or any member of the Professional Competence Committee if you or your colleagues can help.
Professional Competence Committee Members
We are very grateful to our committee members and others who have assisted us to date, and we always welcome any individuals or groups who wish to get involved in professional competence areas of interest.
Chair: Dr Miriam Kennedy
Academic Faculty: Dr Brian Hallahan
Addictions: Dr Gerry McCarney
Adult Psychiatry: Dr Eamonn Kenny
CAP: Dr AnnMarie Waldron
Forensic: Dr Brenda Wright
Liaison: Dr Paula McKay
Old Age: Dr Aoibhinn Lynch (also Vice-Chair)
Social & Rehabiliation: Dr Lee Motherway
Learning Disability: Dr. Ruth Garvey
Medical Psychotherapy: Dr Maeve Moran
PIPSIG: Dr Niamh Farrelly / Dr Michele Cahill
MHC Nominee: Dr Maria Frampton
Dublin East: Dr Raju Bangaru (also Vice-Chair)
Midlands: Dr Ciaran Corcoran
West: Dr Margaret O’Grady