I am at my last day of a fascinating conference hosted by the
Colleges of Medicine in South Africa (CMSA). As College President I
receive many invitations to attend international conferences. I
have to choose carefully what to go to, not only because of
time constraints, but because of the associated financial
costs to the College.
This meeting is unique as it is across medicine, and
is hosted by the equivalent of the Academy of Royal Medical
Colleges in the UK. Professor Zabow, a psychiatrist and
long-standing friend of our College, is their Honorary Treasurer.
Doctors from across the world are having time to think about key
issues for the whole of medicine, not just our speciality silos. It
has been a real eye opener.
With commonalties across medicine with psychiatry, and
differences in equal measure, the topics covered in depth
include:
- an understanding of how Colleges run and reciprocity with other
Colleges
- revalidation
- examinations including process, harmonisation, reciprocities
and the need for exit exams
- litigation.
This was a sombre listen, with escalating claims in all
specialities across the world. Medical Education /Research, Medical
Migration and collaborative support for the development of Health
Care and Education in the developing world have also been on the
agenda.
I have made productive contacts and agreed joint actions with
psychiatrists in South Africa, and have opened up an exciting
dialogue with colleagues from the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada who are starting work with Michael Marmot on
social determinants of health.This dovetails well with the
work which we are doing as a College, together with Dinesh Bhugra
in his WPA role, with Michael Marmot on social determinants and
mental health. So I think this will stand us in good "health " for
what will come out of Public Health England, and how as
psychiatrists we can best influence Health and Well-being Boards
and Local Commissioning Boards. There is already a lot of active
work in this area in Wales and Scotland.
It was very humbling to be made, on your behalf, a Honorary
Fellow of the CMSA, given the role and work of other new Fellows
from across medicine, but also given that one of their Honorary
Fellows is Nelson Mandela. This takes me back to my memory of
rushing across London, when I was Registrar, to see this frail
figure, but so strong of spirit, planting a tree in a London
park.
P.S. Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever
visited.
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