Psychiatric Bulletin (2002) 26: 76. doi: 10.1192/pb.26.2.76-a
© 2002 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Psychiatric Bulletin (2002) 26: 76
© 2002 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Report of the Overseas Working Group
Council Report CR93 £5.00. 20 pp.
The Working Group was established in June 1999 with a remit "to
advise Council on the international role of the College: what contributions
the College should (and should not) try to make in the next decade to the
development of psychiatry and the training of psychiatrists outside the UK and
Ireland, and what resources it would be reasonable to devote to these
objectives". Its membership consisted of: Dr M. Abou-Saleh, Dr D.
Bhugra, Dame Fiona Caldicott, Mrs V. Cameron, Dr J. Henderson, Dr R. Jenkins,
Dr R. Kendell (chairman) and Professor J. Watson. The group met on six
occasions and took evidence from over 20 people, including several overseas
Fellows.
The main conclusions and recommendations of the working group were
that:
- The Overseas Liaison Committee should be replaced by a new International
Affairs Committee.
- This committee and the College Council should monitor total expenditure on
overseas affairs.
- Members and Fellows in low income countries should be offered reduced
subscriptions, using the World Bank's four tiered classification.
- In future, the College's most important role in the training of
psychiatrists from overseas should be to help psychiatrists who have already
obtained a general training locally to obtain higher or speciality training in
the UK.
- The Child and Adolescent Faculty should be invited to set up a working
group of its own to consider how it might help developing countries to acquire
basic skills in its discipline.
- The Research Committee should be invited to consider how it might help
psychiatrists in developing countries to acquire basic clinical and
epidemiological research skills.
- The College should not attempt to hold its Membership examination
outside the British Isles.
- The College should not enrol psychiatrists working outside the British
Isles into its continuing professional development programmes.
- The College should try hard to establish closer links with psychiatrists in
other European countries. In the long run the most effective way of achieving
this is to persuade, and help, some able British trainees to obtain part of
their training in a continental European country.
- College meetings overseas and joint meetings with other national and
international psychiatric associations can be an effective way of raising the
College's international profile.
- Overseas groups should be provided with some tangible resources.
- The status of Affiliate should be available to psychiatrists who are not
resident in the British Isles.
- Psychiatric Bulletin should regularly contain a section devoted to
overseas news and activities.
- The regulations governing the Kenneth Rawnsley Travelling Fellowship should
be amended.
The response of the Court of Electors and Council to the individual
recommendations appears in italicised print after each recommendation in the
main report. With the exception of the two italic bullet points above, the
recommendations were supported and are being taken forward within the
College.
The full report is available from the College's Book Sales Office, tel: 020
7235 2351 ext. 146.
