Rory Conn

The portrayal of autism in Hollywood films

Films are a powerful medium for entertainment and often educate without intending to do so. In this paper we highlight 23 recent films that portray autistic spectrum disorders. We study the impact of these films on public understanding, drawing similarities and highlighting common themes in their depictions. Increasingly, films are being utilised to teach medical students and psychiatric trainees. We consider which of these films provide the best opportunities for medical education.

Multi-professional clinical leadership training in healthcare: A peer-led evaluation of the experience and benefits of the 'Darzi Fellowship'

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a structured clinical leadership programme on healthcare professionals working within the British National Health Service (NHS). Clinical leadership is now regarded as essential in addressing the complex challenges in the NHS, yet few trainees of any healthcare discipline receive formal training. The study describes a peer-led evaluation of a year-long, multidisciplinary, experiential programme, the “Darzi Fellowship”, based in London.,An anonymous survey was analysed using a mixed-methods approach. Individual and collective experiences of fellows were evaluated, in particular the perceived impact the fellowship had on: the fellows themselves, their “host” organisation and the NHS as a whole.,A 90 per cent return rate was achieved. In all, 94 per cent reported that the experience had been valuable to them, 85 per cent feeling more empowered to effect change in healthcare systems. Crucial mechanisms to achieve this included increased self-awareness, personal reflection and the freedom to gain a greater understanding of organisations. Particular emphasis was placed on the value of developing clinical networks which promote collaboration across boundaries. Fellows emerged as more reflexive, critical and strategic thinkers.,This paper demonstrates the positive impact that clinical leadership training can have on participants, and the mechanisms by which future leaders can be created.,The novel, non-commissioned, peer-initiated and peer-led evaluation describes the personal experiences of fellows in a unique, multidisciplinary clinical leadership programme. The authors hope this will inform the development of future schemes in the NHS and provide learning for an international healthcare audience.

The Intentional Brain: Motion, Emotion, and the Development of Modern Neuropsychiatry

The Intentional Brain: Motion, Emotion, and the Development of Modern Neuropsychiatry By Michael R. Trimble. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 2016. £12.59 (hb). 328 pp. ISBN 9781421419497 A fascinating but conceptually elusive subject, ‘neuropsychiatry’ has no universally accepted

Exposure to acute child psychiatry presentations for core psychiatrists

Declaration of interest - R.C. sits on the College’s Emergency Care Taskforce, which is currently considering the value of out-of-hours training. We are writing to draw attention to the lack of clarity provided by the Royal College of Psychiatrists regarding the role of the core trainee psychiatrist in assessing child and adolescent psychiatry patients out of hours. We believe it is important this issue is addressed as it confers broad implications for training, recruitment and service delivery. Crises of paediatric mental health tend to present out of hours. Ireland’s 4th annual child and adolescent mental health service report details ‘striking patterns in the number of [self-harm] presentations seen’: 51% of presentations were in the 8-hour period of 7pm to 3am.1 This finding appears typical for paediatric psychiatry liaison services around the UK. It is well known that in some trusts core trainees are excluded from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)-led out-of-hours care pathways. This situation seems particularly unsatisfactory given that placements in developmental psychiatry are no longer obligatory. By failing to adequately furnish our future adult psychiatrists with skills in child and adolescent mental health, we are reinforcing a culture whereby young people are potentially falling through the care gap between CAMHS and adult mental health services.2,3 Indeed, this very issue is highlighted in a joint paper from the inter-faculty group of the child and adolescent psychiatry and the general and community psychiatry faculties which presents recommendations for the provision of psychiatric services to adolescents and young adults.4 Furthermore, by restricting the level of exposure to child psychiatry, we are doing little to encourage core trainees to perceive the specialty as a future career option. As well as having an impact on the quality of training, the issue has far-reaching implications for patient care. The current lack of clarity fosters an atmosphere of uncertainty as situations arise where no one knows who holds responsibility to clerk a young person on arrival, thereby leading to potential delays in the patient being seen. Emergency department delays are a source of great concern to acute care trusts and create negative attitudes to psychiatric services in general. If we cannot manage to work in a safe and effective way, we are further contributing to the hostility not only towards our specialty but also to our patients, who are at their most vulnerable. It is therefore our view that there should be an explicit expectation for core trainees to have exposure to the full range of acute psychiatric presentations, including child and adolescent patients, out of hours. It is of course essential that this experience would be supported by robust and accessible supervision structures in the form of a second on-call specialty trainee or consultant child psychiatrist. Although we recognise that the College is unable to tell trusts how to deliver their out-of-hours services, it would be helpful if the core psychiatry curriculum contained more robust guidance as to the role of the core trainee in assessing child and adolescent psychiatry cases out of hours. Such a move would help to create clarity as well as holding local education providers to account.

The Complete CBT Guide for Anxiety: A Self-Help Guide for Anxiety, Panic, Social Anxiety, Phobias, Health Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

The Complete CBT Guide for Anxiety: A Self-Help Guide for Anxiety, Panic, Social Anxiety, Phobias, Health Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Edited by Roz Shafran, Lee Brosan, Peter Cooper Constable & Robinson, 2013, £14.99, pb, 464 pp. ISBN: 9781849018968 ‘There are lots of books on