Australasian psychiatry : bulletin of Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists
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Australas Psychiatry · Dec 2013
Review Comparative StudyThe comparative efficacy of intramuscular antipsychotics for the management of acute agitation.
To review the current role and comparative efficacy of short-acting intramuscular (IM) antipsychotics in the management of acute agitation, in current clinical practice. ⋯ Further studies are required in the ongoing development of contemporary, evidence-based clinical guidelines in acute agitation, including head-to-head comparisons of currently utilized IM atypical antipsychotics, sequential treatment or combinations of medications.
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Australas Psychiatry · Aug 2013
ReviewSeeking asylum in Australia: immigration detention, human rights and mental health care.
The article aims to discuss the impact of mandatory detention and human rights violations on the mental health of asylum seekers and the implications for psychiatrists and health professionals. ⋯ Advocacy for human rights and engagement in social debate are core ethical and professional responsibilities. Clinicians need to maintain a focus on ethical obligations.
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Australas Psychiatry · Feb 2009
ReviewPsychiatrically impaired medical practitioners: better care to reduce harm and life impact, with special reference to impaired psychiatrists.
The aims are to briefly review treatment outcomes for impaired practitioners, and to explore how preventive and early intervention, and the accessing of and retention within treatment systems for impaired medical practitioners, and particularly psychiatrists, could be improved to maximize the doctors' chances of full recovery and to minimize danger to self and others. ⋯ Prevention, early detection, intervention, and treatment programs that are more continuous more sensitive to the needs of impaired practitioners, that are more continuous, better structured, and rehabilitation and recovery focused, may be more likely to produce a positive outcome.
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Australas Psychiatry · Dec 2006
ReviewSpirituality, religion and psychiatry: its application to clinical practice.
Based on evidence obtained from recent Australian psychiatric patient surveys, a need to include the spiritual and religious dimension of patients in their psychiatric care has been identified. This paper aims to review the evidence for this need and to suggest the parameters in which this dimension might be applied. ⋯ In considering the spiritual dimension of the patient, the psychiatrist is able to send an important message that he or she is concerned with the whole person, a message that enhances the patient-physician relationship. This, in turn, is likely to increase the therapeutic impact of psychiatrists' interventions.
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Australas Psychiatry · Mar 2006
ReviewExtended Matching Questions and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists written examination: an overview.
To provide an overview, for trainees and fellows, of the Extended Matching Question, a new question type recently introduced in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists written examination. The characteristics, technical aspects and construction of these question types are discussed. Some pointers for candidates and those setting questions are outlined. ⋯ Extended Matching Questions are now commonly used to test medical knowledge in many areas of medicine, including psychiatry. They represent a transparent, evidence-based approach to the assessment of medical knowledge, which lends itself to electronic marking and statistical analysis. These questions facilitate the development of question banks and provide an easily accessible oversight of what areas of the curriculum have been examined.