The trainee perspective

Abstract

In Asia, while the postgraduate training in psychiatry employs the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) core training curriculum for psychiatry as a standard course, some adjustment to the course is required for the unique demographic and sociocultural characteristics of its region.

From the small group work in the 14th course for the academic development of psychiatrists (CAD), organized by the Japan Young Psychiatrists Organization (JYPO) in 2015, young psychiatrists form Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand agreed that the core psychiatric curriculum must include both general and psychiatric knowledge which are fundamental to clinical practice and continuous learning. General knowledge consists of knowledge management, academic skills, epidemiology, research methodology and statistics, evidence-based medicine, bio-ethic and medicolegal issues, professionalism, and medical anthropology, while psychiatric knowledge incorporates basic science, diagnostic assessment skills, etiopathogenesis, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments, disease prognosis, and mental health promotion and prevention. Moreover, the curriculum for junior psychiatric residents has to be composed of courses from various departments that encourage them practice in holistic care and multidisciplinary approach including emergency medicine, internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics, community based medicine, anesthesiology, radiology and palliative care. For senior psychiatric residents, the training program should consist of in-depth psychiatric knowledge, general psychotherapy concept and basic skills, and free elective subjects.

Since Asia is different from Europe in terms of large population, shortage of psychiatrists, aging society, racial and cultural diversity, and high risk of natural disasters; the postgraduate training in psychiatry in Asia should focus on the subjects regarding health economy, geriatric psychiatry, cultural and trans-cultural psychiatry, ethnopsychopharmacology, disaster psychiatry and mental health. Furthermore, the cooperation among Asian countries should be promoted in order to initiate knowledge exchange and research collaboration. These could contribute to the sustainable advancement of Asian psychiatry and mental health in the future.

Disclosure of interest

The author has not supplied his declaration of competing interest.