About the Women in
Psychiatry Special Interest Group
WIPSIG is a College group open to all Members, Fellows,
Pre-Membership Psychiatric Trainees (formerly Inceptors) and
Affiliates.
WIPSIG seeks to ensure the provision of holistic care to women
using mental health services. It also seeks to improve the working
lives of women psychiatrists and to promote their careers. It is
important to emphasise that the group is open to both men and women
as there are a significant number of male psychiatrists who provide
care to women using mental health services.
WIPSIG was started in 1995. The group has run career development
days for women psychiatrists, and regularly holds sessions at
College meetings on services for women users of mental health
services and career related issues. Two meetings of the committee
each year are open meetings with relevant academic
presentations.
The group has monitored the situation of women in clinical and
academic psychiatry and drawns attention both within the College
and externally, to perceived inequality. WIPSIG attempts to address
many of the pertinent national issues relating to its areas of
interest. The group has also set up a database for any psychiatrist
wishing to work part-time or to job share. Further details of the
groups role and activities can be found in the document Ideas for Today and Tomorrow
We celebrated our 10th Anniversary with a conference at the
College in November 2006. Following Dr Fiona Mason taking over the
position of Chair from Dr Ros Ramsay, we held a stategy
planning meeting to look at our future direction which was
discussed at our meeting last July in Glasgow. This resulted in the
development of specific workstreams to focus our work for the next
year on "The careers of women doctors" and "The physical healthcare
of women service users".
Our next meeting
will take place on Tuesday 3 Nov 2009 at the Royal College of
Psychiatrists.
Committee group members
| Member |
Year of joining |
Position |
|
Dr Fiona Mason
|
2007
(E)
|
Chair
|
|
Dr Hema Ananthanarayanan
|
2007
(C)
|
Honorary Secretary
|
|
Dr Lucy Watkin
|
2007
(E)
|
Financial Officer
|
|
Dr Ann Arnold
|
2007
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Elena Baker-Glenn
|
2009
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Natasha Bijlani
|
2007
(C)
|
Newsletter Editor
|
|
Dr Julia Cartwright
|
2007
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Vivien Deacon
|
2007
(C)
|
Newsletter Editor
|
|
Dr Judith Edwards
|
2009
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Michelle Gilmore
|
2008
(E)
|
Psychiatric Training Committee Rep
|
|
Dr Louise Howard
|
2007
(C)
|
Academic Secretary
|
|
Dr Elizabeth McDonald
|
2007
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Rebecca Moore
|
2008
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Elizabeth Mounty
|
2007
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Gira Patel
|
2009
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Olivia Protti
|
2007
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
|
Dr Shaheen Shora
|
2009
(C)
|
Website Content Editor
|
|
Dr Jennifer Tarry
|
2007
(C)
|
Committee Member
|
Minutes
WIPSIG Public
Documents
How
to join
Membership is open to all members (men and women) of or
associates of the College. Others may be invited to join at the
discretion of the Chair. To join, please complete our online application form or email the College Membership
section.
Newsletters
Interesting links
Organisations Related
to Women's Health
Articles Related to the
Careers of Women Doctors and Psychiatrists