College hosts first Scholar Network event
The College recently hosted its first Scholar Network event, which brought together psychiatrists from the College’s Presidential, Sustainability and Parliamentary Scholar schemes.
The College’s Scholar schemes offer resident and SAS doctors in psychiatry the chance to use their special interest days to engage in a specific strand of College work.
The nature of the work varies greatly between Scholars and schemes and is guided by the interests of the Scholars themselves.
Scholars travelled from across the UK down to Prescot Street, bringing professional backgrounds representing the full spectrum of the College’s 13 faculties.
The aim of the day was facilitating the Scholars to discuss their work, share ideas and foster wider College interaction.
This was a success, with one attendee commenting that “it was great to meet all the Scholars in person and to see what everyone was up to. It was a chance to network and collaborate”. Another Scholar commented that the day “added tremendous value to the overall network.”
Following a talk on sustainability and mental health and another on wellbeing and retention in the psychiatric workforce, attendees engaged in a policy workshop.
During the workshop Scholars discussed the implications of the Mental Health Act reform bill, implementation of nature-based interventions in mental healthcare and the abolition of NHS England.
The Scholars drew on knowledge of each topic, as well as their personal professional experience, to identify the impact each issue has on psychiatrists and the provision of excellent mental healthcare.
Thanks to the engagement of the Scholars, and the insights provided by the speakers, the day was a resounding success.
The team behind the event hope it can become a regular fixture in the College calendar and encourage any resident or SAS doctors to keep an eye out for postings to join the next cohort of Scholars.