The Mental Heatlh in Medicine seminar was help on 18 August 2010.
Recordings were made in two parts.
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View the Mental Health in Medciine event schedule (PDF 229KB) event schedule
About
Professor Patrick McGorry AM, Australian of the Year for 2010, was keynote speaker at Mental Health in Medicine, on 18 August 2010.
The seminar was held by the Flinders Medical Students’ Society (FMSS), and addressed the poorly recognised problem of depression, anxiety and other mental illness in medical students.
A major study conducted last year surveyed over 1000 Australian medical students and found that these students reported higher rates of depressive illness than the rest of the population.
“With the tremendous study load, medical students are very time-poor which puts a lot of strain on our personal lives, family lives and physical and mental wellbeing. In addition, medical students tend to be highly-motivated and driven individuals which is great for dealing with the workload, but can be detrimental in medicine because it means we put immense pressure on ourselves to succeed. In the extremely competitive environment of medical school, students may struggle for the first time in their lives and this is a source of maladjustment for many of us,” said Minh Nguyen, Chair of Mental Health in Medicine. “Many students also accept that stress, anxiety and strain on personal life is intrinsic to medical school. Some even see this as admirable, reflecting ‘dedication to ones’ studies’. This seminar is about shifting cultural attitudes so that those who are struggling and really need some help are not afraid to speak out.”
Presenters:
- internationally-renowned Professor McGorry spoke about the importance of early intervention and the need for reform in the Australian mental health system. Professor McGorry has been a passionate advocate for youth mental health for three decades through his work in establishing Orygen Youth Health (OYH), a world-renowned youth mental health organisation. OYH is Australia’s largest youth mental health research centre and encompasses a clinical service targeting the needs of young people with emerging serious mental illness, including first-episode psychosis.
- Professor Michael Kidd AM, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (Flinders University) and the President of the World Family Doctors Organisation. Professor Kidd has a strong interest in doctors’ health and wellbeing, having in 2009 authored “First Do No Harm: Being a Resilient Doctor in the 21st Century”, a book about leading a healthy and balanced lifestyle as a doctor; he spoke about the things he wished he had known before embarking on a career in medicine.
- Dr Michael Baigent, Associate Professor of Psychiatry (Flinders University) is the National Clinical Advisor to beyondblue: the national depression initiative, presented recent national research findings on suicide and depression in the medical profession.
- Dr Roger Sexton, Chair of the South Australian Board of the Australian Medical Board
- Dr Jill Maxwell OAM, former President of the Australian Medical Association (South Australia) and current Chairperson of Medical Insurance Group Australia.
- Dr. Sue O’Brien, GP and counsellor for Flinders medical students for 25 years at the Flinders University Health and Counselling Service, described her experiences in counselling medical students over the last three decades in a changing medical culture.
