Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
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Australas Psychiatry · Jun 2012
Perceptions of psychiatry of old age amongst psychiatry registrars in Australia and New Zealand.
To assess the perceptions of psychiatry registrars of their training experience in Psychiatry of Old Age (POA), and whether factors such as clinical exposure and stage of training correlate with these perceptions. ⋯ These data may be useful in addressing a shortfall of trainees in POA, which has implications for the health of older Australasians. It may inform service providers and the RANZCP of factors that could be modified or optimised to encourage registrars to consider subspecialty training in the area.
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Australas Psychiatry · Jun 2012
Psychiatry and online social media: potential, pitfalls and ethical guidelines for psychiatrists and trainees.
This paper proposes ethical guidelines for psychiatrists and psychiatry trainees when interacting with social media. ⋯ The new social media provides important avenues for communication, education and treatment. These avenues pose ethical and practical dilemmas that can be resolved by the application of established ethical principles. Practical recommendations for navigating social media are proposed.
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Australas Psychiatry · Jun 2012
Can mental health commissions really drive reform? Towards better resourcing, services, accountability and stakeholder engagement.
In this second and final part of this series about mental health commissions, we consider the extent to which it is possible to find hard evidence that these new structures really can drive mental health reform. Four key domains of improvement are established for the purposes of this review: do commissions lead to better resources, better services, better accountability and better stakeholder engagement? A review of the evidence from both Australia and overseas is presented. The article also considers how the commissions, federal and state, will organise their relationships productively to avoid duplication and promote synergy. What of those jurisdictions without commissions? Is this genuine national reform or merely more piecemeal activity in mental health? The authors have been informed by the varying structures and functions of mental health commissions internationally and were part of the New South Wales taskforce to establish a mental health commission. They had the opportunity to visit the Western Australian and New Zealand Commissions as part of this process. ⋯ Addressing mental illness requires a joined up approach to government and services. Commissions offer a new organisational structure designed to deliver this contiguity. There is also evidence that nascent and established commissions are delivering real reforms, including in terms of additional resources and influence. Without concerted efforts to coordinate activity, the intersection between federal and state commissions will be confused and duplications might arise. The paper calls for a new network of commissions to be established across Australia and New Zealand, to share resources and common tasks, clarify roles and build common approaches.
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Australas Psychiatry · Apr 2012
Case ReportsAcute anterior compartment syndrome associated with psychogenic polydipsia.
The aim of this paper is to describe the association of psychogenic polydipsia with anterior compartment syndrome. ⋯ Anterior compartment syndrome is a rare event associated with psychogenic polydipsia. Psychiatrists, physicians and surgeons should be aware of the seriousness of anterior compartment syndrome and its potential to increase morbidity in patients with psychogenic polydipsia.