Dean's Report

When I was elected Dean in 1998, I was asked to make a short presentation at the Annual Meeting outlining what I thought the College should be doing in the field of education during my 5-year term. I remember my excitement in trying to formulate long-term plans. I also remember Mike Shooter, then the Registrar, telling me immediately afterwards that the then President, the late and very much missed Dr Robert Kendell, had turned to him as I finished my talk and whispered ‘he’ll never do it’.

I like a challenge! That talk became the basis of the educational strategy, which I put together over the coming months and which has been much of my ‘ dean's task list’ ever since. So what have we achieved? And what remains to be done?

I’ll start with undergraduates and the medical school context. We have developed new careers literature, an enterprise led by the Collegiate Trainees Committee (CTC). We have ensured that the College is represented at medical Careers Fairs around the country. We also now have a regular slot on the Medlink programme for sixth-formers interested in a career in medicine. This, again, is now delivered by CTC members. At a more administrative level, we have combined the College's Research and University Committees. The new committee has now met twice and will I am sure be a major force in preserving and expanding the academic career track for psychiatrists.

What about training? We now have a unified specialist training committee bringing together the basic and higher specialist advisory committees. Against many Doomsday predictions, we have succeeded in introducing mandatory placements in child and adolescent psychiatry and/or learning disability and, on the back of it, clear learning objectives for all basic training placements. We have a comprehensively revised curriculum for ‘Basic Psychiatric Training and the MRCPsych exam’ - which, like the Forth Bridge, now needs a further revision! We have also made the commitment to introduce mandatory psychotherapy experience and to monitor this at the level of individual trainees. We remain committed to improving and monitoring standards of MRCPsych courses, and there is now an MRCPsych course organisers sub-committee who have made an excellent start in sharing and improving good practice in course design and delivery. We have almost completed work on a skills-based curriculum for Certificates of Completion of Specialist Training (CCSTs) in psychiatry (ahead of many colleges) and are now carrying out a root and branch review of the structures of psychiatric training and of the range of CCSTs we offer. There are considerable challenges in terms of the new Postgraduate Medical Training and Education Board, the European Working Time Directive and Modernising Medical Education. We are also committed (not before time perhaps) to ensuring a truly developmental perspective throughout training across the psychiatric specialties.

Which brings me to examinations. It has been a great pleasure for me to work with Dr Stephen Tyrer and Professor Femi Oyebode in reviewing and implementing a thorough revision of the MRCPsych examination and I am delighted that the changes have, as of this Spring, been fully implemented. The main changes (introducing OSCEs, extended matching questions and criterion referencing) have, I think, made our examination much sounder educationally. They have also been well received by trainees and trainers. The Academy of Royal Colleges is now reviewing all College exams and we have a real opportunity to ‘think the unthinkable’. My money is on a common ‘ Part 1’ exam following Foundation SHO year. I think we may well also see a much more formal exit assessment, perhaps in the form of an OSCE.

The College's educational role certainly doesn't stop at the end of the formal training. I hugely enjoyed my 2-year stint as Director of CPD and am proud of having led the implementation of preplanning and peer-monitoring of CPD and ensured its close linkage to the still evolving NHS processes of appraisal and revalidation. As before, predictions of doom proved unfounded and I am delighted to see the CPD Committee go from strength to strength under Joe Bouch's very capable direction.

Time does not permit me to dwell in detail on my work in recruitment and retention. I am delighted though that we have been able to collaborate as closely as we have with the English Department of Health, and that there has been a similar collaborative initiative in Wales. I am confident that the comprehensive recruitment and retention strategy we are developing will lead to real improvements both in filling posts and in encouraging constructive working styles for consultants.

Being Dean of the College has been a tremendous pleasure, honour and privilege. I shall miss it more than I can say. I owe a huge debt of thanks to many of the College staff, who have shown a uniformly high level of skill and dedication that I have not seen in any other institution. In this context, I particularly need to thank:

1. • Vanessa Cameron

2. • Gareth Holsgrove

3. • Anne Dean, his predecessor

4. • Lena Hartley

5. • Carole Pashley

6. • Claire Drummond

7. • Robert Jackson

8. • Sam Bendall

9. • Cate Cole

10. • Marion Palmer Jones

11. • Joanna Carroll

I also need to thank Chairs and members of all the Special Advisory Committees and of the other educational committees within the College. Within that, my most particular thanks are due to the subdeans past and present who have been so supportive over the years

1. • Prof. David Cottrell

2. • Dr Kingsley Norton

3. • Dr Sue Whyte

4. • Dr Parimala Moodley

5. • Dr Jeremy Bolton

6. • Dr Kandiah Sivakumar

7. • Prof. Dinesh Bhugra

And last but not least, Professor Mary Robertson, who as many of you know has been seriously ill for some months and I am sure you would want to join me in wishing a speedy recovery.

The Education Committee and Court of Electors have agreed that there should be an update of the Education Strategy. I am delighted to leave this major task in the excellent hands of the new Dean, Professor Dinesh Bhugra, and the new Head of Postgraduate Education Services, Dr Gareth Holsgrove, and can confidently predict that implementing it will keep them enjoyably busy for the next 5 years!