A range of other bloggers have been invited to post. You may have noticed that Daniel White (one of the Mater Tutors) and Niall Crumlish (who is currently working in a St John of God order project in Malawi) are now registered as contributors. So hopefully over time we will hear from them.
I have also put the paper on stigma I referred to a good few times during Thursday's lecture up on the Blackboard section devoted to Psychiatry and Society.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
teaching psychiatry using the cinema
Hi all
There's an interesting piece in The Economist about using films to teach students about psychiatry - you can read it http://www.economist.com/world/international/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=8892568
As you can see, there are two schools of thought on the value of cinema as an educational tool. Certainly one shouldn't think that just watching A Beautiful Mind or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is enough to learn about schizophrenia or the old-style asylum system. There is no substitute for the clinical exposure that you will be experiencing during your rotations. And it must be admitted that films by their nature tend to focus on the dramatic, the bizarre, the unusual and the threatening, rather than the more mundane aspects of mental illness (or any other topic)
However, it is important to recognise that many - if not most - people's perceptions of mental illness and of psychiatric services is formed by the mass media, and cinema is one of the most powerful and influential parts of that media. So aside from the value or otherwise of films as a learning tool, it is important to have some ideas of what these public perceptions are.
There's an interesting piece in The Economist about using films to teach students about psychiatry - you can read it http://www.economist.com/world/international/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=8892568
As you can see, there are two schools of thought on the value of cinema as an educational tool. Certainly one shouldn't think that just watching A Beautiful Mind or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is enough to learn about schizophrenia or the old-style asylum system. There is no substitute for the clinical exposure that you will be experiencing during your rotations. And it must be admitted that films by their nature tend to focus on the dramatic, the bizarre, the unusual and the threatening, rather than the more mundane aspects of mental illness (or any other topic)
However, it is important to recognise that many - if not most - people's perceptions of mental illness and of psychiatric services is formed by the mass media, and cinema is one of the most powerful and influential parts of that media. So aside from the value or otherwise of films as a learning tool, it is important to have some ideas of what these public perceptions are.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Day 1
Hi everyone, and welcome to the blog proper. Hopefully a few at least of Fifth/Final Med Class of 08 (hopefully) will be reading. And hopefully a few at least of them were at the lectures this afternoon.
Firstly, the PowerPoint presentations of the lectures are now online - in Blackboard, under course material, in a special folder of their own. Over the coming months we'll be putting material both from the lectures and otherwise related to the course up there.
Secondly, I'm sure the most acute concern for many of you is just how this will be incorporated into the exam process. We will keep you updated as this is worked out fully. Remember, the most important thing from the lectures will be the concepts discussed rather than the fine detail.
Finally, as to the lectures themselves. I hope those were there didn't mind the interruption of those loud noises from the audiovisual system. Hopefully these will be fixed in time for next week! If any of you have any questions or comments, and if any of you are interested in posting in this blog, just drop me a line!
Seamus
Firstly, the PowerPoint presentations of the lectures are now online - in Blackboard, under course material, in a special folder of their own. Over the coming months we'll be putting material both from the lectures and otherwise related to the course up there.
Secondly, I'm sure the most acute concern for many of you is just how this will be incorporated into the exam process. We will keep you updated as this is worked out fully. Remember, the most important thing from the lectures will be the concepts discussed rather than the fine detail.
Finally, as to the lectures themselves. I hope those were there didn't mind the interruption of those loud noises from the audiovisual system. Hopefully these will be fixed in time for next week! If any of you have any questions or comments, and if any of you are interested in posting in this blog, just drop me a line!
Seamus
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Psychiatry and Society
Welcome to the blog of the Psychiatry and Society lecture series for Final Year Medicine, UCD. This course aims to explore the relationship between psychiatry and the wider social, cultural, economic and demographic context of society. We will be running lectures in C005 in the Health Sciences Building, Belfield, Dublin 4, regularly throughout the coming months. We intend this blog to act as a public forum for discussion and debate on the issues raised.
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