Professor Nandini Chakraborty

As Dean I will endeavour to bring into UK psychiatry training- pride in professional identity, passion for phenomenology and formulation, culture of research, and a spirit of logical enquiry. I want to build a resilient, and inspired workforce; based in strong traditions of psychopathology and psychotherapy skills, simultaneously geared up for a digital future; focussed on the needs of the 4 UK nations and learning from its international membership; a culturally competent workforce ready to serve a diverse population with humanity, empathy and evidence-based science. I will focus on improving recruitment, examinations and training, processes and legislation towards specialist registration. My approach will incorporate wellbeing and work-life harmony, being a role model who leads by example.

My vision:

Build on the basics.

-The core principles of psychiatry- thorough psychiatric history taking, nuanced mental state examination, integrated formulation and logical (differential) diagnoses. Sadly, we are losing key skills in a jungle of bureaucracy. I would ensure that training programmes embed psychopathology, expertise to explore neurodiversity, and exploring the areas of overlap with medicine, neurology.

Prepare for the future.

-Embed digital skills in training. Needing to work with artificial intelligence is inevitable.

-Embed awareness of cultural diversity, geopolitical factors which impact on mental health on a global scale. As someone who has volunteered, taught and built partnerships with clinicians in several projects across Asia and Africa, through RCPsych and more widely, I deeply believe in global mental health and believe that it can enrich the experience of our workforce.  

Tackling differential attainment.

I designed the CASC masterclass for the College, commissioned by GMC. I want to bring the learning into every MRCPsych course.

My track record includes Associate Dean for Equivalence (2016-2021), followed immediately by Clinical Lead for national recruitment in psychiatry, NHSE, Workforce Training and Education. National leadership in two pathways leading to specialist registration in psychiatry making me an extremely effective leader in planning flexible career paths to fill consultant vacancies alongside improving recruitment pathways which bring in the right doctors into psychiatry.

A psychiatry specific core training recruitment method focussing on the key attributes of a good psychiatrist- I am working on it already. Becoming Dean will help me progress plans more efficiently, seamlessly between College and NHSE.

Being a trainer for WHO instruments- Schedules for assessment in neuropsychiatry, a phenomenological interview, and Mental Health Gap Action Programme for volunteering, makes me a hands-on trainer for phenomenology and international volunteering.

A full-time clinician and supervisor, I share the frustrations of colleagues wanting to give more to training but restricted by immense service needs of caseloads. Supervisor wellbeing and proper job planning needs to be a College priority. I will be building a resilient workforce, kind to themselves, keeping creativity alive and focussing on work/life harmony, sustaining long and fulfilling careers. With my interest in hiking, travel writing, dancing - I lead by example.  

Finally, my plans will centre around patient outcomes. Recovery is the heart of what we do.