UBC Department of Psychiatry Staffing Update | July 2024

Dear Department members,

I would like to share a staffing update regarding our UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office.

We are thrilled to welcome Ms. Megan Rollerson as our new Manager of Communications and Partnerships in the UBC Department of Psychiatry as of July 8, 2024. Megan brings extensive experience to this role, having worked as a marketing and communications professional in various industries, and also recently completed her Master’s in Strategic Communication.

As Manager of Communications and Partnerships, Megan will be responsible for developing and implementing internal and external communication initiatives, writing documents such as letters, reports and newsletters, updating and maintaining the Department website and social media content, supporting partnership engagements with internal and external stakeholders, and working closely with Department members and leadership teams to support the strategic priorities of the Department and Institute of Mental Health (IMH).

Megan can be reached at megan.rollerson@ubc.ca or 604-822-2142, so please feel free to send your requests regarding the Communications Bulletin, the website and other communications-related items to her.

Please join me in warmly welcoming Megan to her new role and the UBC Department of Psychiatry administrative team!

Sincerely,

Margaret Koshi
Director, Administration
UBC Department of Psychiatry

The UBC Department of Psychiatry Administration Office respectfully acknowledges the land on which we live, work and play is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-waututh).

Clinical Faculty Update: Clinical Teaching Payments Info and 2024 Mentoring Program Open

** Shared on behalf of Dr. Joseph Tham, Clinical Faculty Affairs Representative, UBC Faculty of Medicine, UBC Department of Psychiatry **

Greetings UBC Department of Psychiatry Clinical Faculty,

I hope this E-mail finds you well as we enter the summer season!

Thanks for all who attended the UBC Psychiatry Research Day and Clinical Faculty Dinner on June 13th. Congrats to all award winners for this year.

Clinical Teaching Payment Information

For those who missed the dinner, I’ve attached a PDF of the summary Clinical Teaching Payment Information that was presented. You’ll also see in slide 2 some general reminders around items like the Stimulus Grants and to consider application for promotions.

Here’s the summary for teaching payments:

All undergrad med school teaching and post-grad resident didactic teaching tracked through the Department’s Teaching Tracking & Payment System (TTPS). You should not need to do any submissions. Currently $106.03 per hour or unit as of July 1. You should see cheque or deposit about 2 months after the end of each quarter.
Postgrad Psychotherapy & Research supervisors still need to submit invoices. Paid yearly.
Resident clinical supervision (ie. on the wards) will be based on an amount provided by the Faculty of Medicine for each resident. Supervisors are tracked by the Department and will get a percentage based on resident shared among a number of staff. Ballpark estimate: if a resident is on the ward with you as sole supervisor, this works out to about $700/month currently. Each EPA you assess/submit is $25. All payments made yearly and you should see cheque or deposit between June and July.

You can also visit the Clinical Faculty webpage for more details on Clinical Faculty Payments for Teaching!

Clinical Faculty Mentoring

Fall 2024 Clinical Faculty Mentoring is open for those looking for a mentor or wanting to volunteer to be a mentor. Here’s an Invitation and contact, and there’s more information attached in the “Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program Overview 2024-25” PDF:

Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program – UBC Faculty of Medicine

Are you clinical faculty or do you have an interest in teaching/supervising students?

Do you have an interest in mentorship and in doing more within the UBC Faculty of Medicine (FoM)?

Are you interested in getting support from an experienced clinical faculty colleague or mentoring a more junior colleague?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might be interested in participating in the Clinical Faculty Mentoring Program. The purpose of this formal mentoring program is to support the career goals of clinical faculty in the areas of administration, clinical, and teaching to enhance overall engagement within the UBC Faculty of Medicine (FoM).

Time commitment: approximately 9 hours over seven months (Oct 2024-April 2025)

Cost: Free

Accreditation: Up to 9.0 Mainpro+/MOC Section 3 credits (Mentees); 2.0 Mainpro+/MOC Section 1 credits (Mentors)

Application deadline: July 15, 2024

Register: https://ubccpd.ca/clinical-faculty-mentoring

Contact: cf.mentoring@ubc.ca

All the best and have a wonderful season ahead everyone.

Joe

Joseph C. W. Tham, MD, FRCPC, FAPA

Clinical Associate Professor
Clinical Faculty Affairs Representative
Department of Psychiatry, UBC Faculty of Medicine

Office: (604)822-7549
Email: joseph.tham@ubc.ca

I humbly acknowledge, with gratitude, that I live, work, and play as an uninvited guest on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil- Waututh) Nations.

Alert: Incident of Theft at UBC Psychiatry Administration Office, Detwiller Pavilion, UBC Hospital

On the morning of Tuesday July 3, a brazen theft occurred whereby a person stole a laptop secured with an anti-theft device from the UBC Psychiatry Administration Office reception area, while the team was present. The theft occurred very quickly and was not noticed at the time it was occurring. It appears that even anti-theft device securing the laptop did not stop this person from being able to pull the lock with force from the laptop, so please be extra vigilant and lock your doors when leaving laptops and other valuable items unattended.

If theft occurs in your office or workspace, please notify UBC Hospital security and also report the incident to UBC – RCMP, who have a case file open for this site.

Again, please be extra vigilant, as there seems to be an uptick of theft occurring not only here at UBC Hospital, but also at G. L. Diamond Healthcare Centre at VGH (see below).

Alert: Thefts at Diamond Centre – VGH

Dear Tenants of the Gordon and Leslie Diamond Health Care Centre:

Please ensure this message is shared with your entire department staff.

Be aware there have been a few recent thefts affecting the facility, particularly at open area workstations.

Below is a recommendation of steps you can take to help protect your belongings.

Don’t leave valuables in plain sight. Lock them away. To most thieves, out of sight is out of mind.
In public areas, never leave valuables unattended, even for a few seconds.

Don’t leave keys or access cards lying around, report immediately to DHCChelp@bgis.com if lost.
If you leave your open workspace, even for a few minutes, ask a neighbor to watch your area for you. If you have a door, lock it when you leave your office.
If you see a stranger in your office area, give them a friendly “Can I help you?” Direct them to the nearest public waiting area or the clinic they may be searching for.
If you see anyone behaving suspiciously, report them to Security at Local 7111 and report the suspicious person. A brief description of the suspect is very helpful for follow up by facility support staff. If the person is walking away, try to see which direction they went.
At home, keep your doors locked even when you are there. It is common for thieves to open a door and grab a bag left near the door.
If keeping the doors locked when you are home is inconvenient, be mindful to put your personal bag containing your access card and key away from the door in a secure place.
All Departments are encouraged to keep an up-to-date record of the office keys in circulation, and make sure the keys are returned when a staff no longer work for your clinic. If this is not already done, it’s never too late to start!
Staff holding keys should all be aware of the importance of keeping the keys secured, especially the department submasters which provide access to all rooms in your Department.
Key chains and keys should not have any identifier that could help someone know which doors the key opens.
When accessing an area equipped with a card reader, or the building after regular business hours, DO NOT let others piggy back behind you. Let them know nicely they need to swipe their badge to enter at that time.

Greater than 99% of all thefts in this facility have occurred with no forced entry whatsoever, indicating that occupants are often not securing their areas and their possessions, and leaving them vulnerable for periods however brief. Harden the target and prevent crimes of opportunity.

Stay Safe!!

Thank you.

BGIS office contact information:

BGIS office hours: Monday to Friday 0800 – 1600

Help Desk e-mail: dhcchelp@bgis.com

Office Telephone: 604-875-5830

UBC Psychiatry Publishes the Largest Study on Brain Age Across the Human Lifespan

Reminder: Fraudulent Emails to Department Members

This is a reminder to be on the alert for fraudulent emails masquerading as messages from the Department Head. If you receive an email such as the one below, please do not respond or click on any links. Instead, send the original email to Psychiatry IT as an attachment (not as a “Forward”) and they will ask UBC IT to block that email address. Once you have sent the attached original email, you can go ahead and delete it.

Please keep in mind that any unusual requests or solicitations for things such as money transfers will NOT be coming from Dr. Yatham, and are most certainly fraudulent.

If you have any questions or issues, please feel free to reach out to Psychiatry IT, thank you.

Psychiatry IT
psychiatry.it@ubc.ca
604 827 5695

Congratulations to Ms. Linda Chang, Recipient of a PGME Program Administrator Award!

We warmly congratulate our Postgraduate Programs Manager Ms. Linda Chang on receiving a 2024 PGME Program Administrator Award, in recognition of her hard work and dedication to the Program. Associate Dean Dr. Ravi Sidhu presented the award to Linda at the PGME Spring Workshop on June 18.

Congratulations once again on this fantastic recognition, Linda!

Congratulations to our Clinical Faculty Award Winners, Announced at the Clinical Faculty Annual Dinner on June 13!

The Annual Clinical Faculty Dinner on June 13 was a great opportunity to recognize the valuable contributions of all our clinical faculty members, including our deserving awardees of UBC Psychiatry Clinical Faculty Awards for teaching and research!

As well, the evening included an Awards Presentation to honour the following awardees of UBC Psychiatry Clinical Faculty Awards for excellence in teaching and research!

Translation Research into Clinical Excellence in Psychiatry Settings (TRICEPS) Award

Dr. Diane Fredrikson
Dr. Joseph Tham

Undergraduate Psychiatry Clinical Teaching Award

Lindsay Bishop
Alison Gregson
Nataliya Grishin
Grant Millar
Nicolas Ramperti

UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence

BCCH: Dr. Ashley Miller
VGH: Dr. Cameron Anderson
SPH: Dr. Lingsa Jia
UBCH: Dr. Andrew Howard
RH: Dr. Rahul Soma
RCH: Dr. Leah Rosetti
SMH: Dr. Lindsay Bishop
Victoria: Dr. Ashley Jewett
Prince George: Dr. Christine Kennedy
Community Psychiatry: Dr. Myles Blank
LGH: Dr. Arvind Kang
KGH: Dr. Claire Docherty
RIH: Dr. Fatima Allibhai

UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence in Child and Adolescent Subspecialty Psychiatry

Dr. Brian Banno

UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence in Geriatric Subspecialty Psychiatry

Dr. Vincent Choong

UBC Psychiatry Residents Association Annual Award for Teaching Excellence in Forensic Subspecialty Psychiatry

Dr. Kulwant Riar

Thank you once again to all our clinical faculty and congratulations to our award winners. We hope to see you all again next year!

Announcement of Dr. Michelle van den Engh’s Departure as Co-Associate Director, Resident Psychotherapy Training

** Sent on behalf of Dr. Irfan Khanbhai, PGE Program Director, UBC Department of Psychiatry **

Dear Clinical Faculty members,

With the graduation of our last time-based cohort of the UBC Psychiatry Residency Program, Dr. Michelle van den Engh will be stepping down from her role as Co-Associate Director for Resident Psychotherapy Training, after three years as Associate Director in this position and a subsequent two years as Co-Associate Director together with Dr. Jaeyun Yoo.

We would like to thank Dr. van den Engh for all her amazing work with the Program regarding psychotherapy. In her role, she helped to organize, refine and enhance so many aspects of the psychotherapy program. These included the curriculum and its transition to CBD, an increase in the therapy options across tracks for residents, as well as the pivot to zoom and the need to get recordings possible with so many different privacy considerations across all the health authorities to name just a few.

She will continue in her roles as Vancouver Island Psychotherapy Site Director, as a member of the UBC Psychiatry EDIA Committee, and as Clinical Faculty Representative on the UBC Undergraduate Education Committee.

Dr. Yoo will be taking over the full role of Associate Director for Resident Psychotherapy Training as of July 1, 2024.

Please join me in thanking Dr. van den Engh and welcoming Dr. Yoo.

Warm regards,

Irfan

Dr. Irfan Khanbhai MD, FRCPC
Clinical Associate Professor
Program Director
UBC Psychiatry Postgraduate Education Program

Interim Associate Head
Postgraduate Education and Continuing Professional Development
Department of Psychiatry

IMH Showcase | May 2024

CHITHRA PREAM RAJU

IMH Marshall Fellow
UBC Mood Disorders Centre

Meet Dr. Chithra Pream Raju, a Marshall Fellow and dedicated Psychiatrist from India. Dr. Pream Raju’s research focuses on bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, and maternal mental health at the UBC Mood Disorders Clinic, where she applies a holistic approach towards mental health. Outside of her professional pursuits, Dr. Pream Raju enjoys traveling, music, and dancing, always eager to explore new cultures and dance forms!

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

I am a psychiatrist from India. I completed my residency training at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, India. I continued as a Senior Resident (equivalent to a sub-specialty in Canada) in Forensic Psychiatry for a year and then moved to Adult Psychiatry for the next couple of years at the same institute. I am currently working as a fellow at the Mood Disorders Clinic after receiving the Marshall Fellowship Award for the years 2021/2022 and 2023/2024. My areas of interest include mood disorders with a focus on bipolar disorder, substance use disorders, and maternal mental health with a holistic approach towards mental health.

Can you describe what kind of research you are involved in?

I am involved in various clinical trials focusing on the treatment of bipolar disorder, a severe mental illness characterized by alternating episodes of mania and depression. I am working on research projects to understand the neurobiology of bipolar disorder, which may lead to the development of novel treatment agents for preventing and treating the recurrence of episodes. Additionally, I am involved in various other research projects on substance use disorders and trauma during childbirth in women.

Can you tell us about an interesting project or initiative you are working on?

The most interesting part of one of my projects is investigating whether the levels of neurochemicals in the brain, measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy in patients with first-episode mania (which marks the onset of bipolar disorder), can predict the recurrence of future episodes over the next 10 years. The best aspect of this project is the follow-up MRS scans conducted over a decade. I am excited to be working on many new advances in the neurobiology of psychiatric disorders, which remains an unsolved puzzle. What excites me most about my work is the impact of research on improving the functioning and quality of life for patients with bipolar disorder through new treatment advances.

What is the best piece of advice you can share with colleagues new to your department or UBC?

There are so many opportunities around you, and you have to keep looking for them and reach out to as many people as possible to connect with. This will eventually help you reach great heights in your career!

What are your interests and hobbies outside of work?

Traveling has always been very exciting, and I love to travel and explore different countries! I also love music and dancing, and I continue to enjoy learning new dance forms!

Besides your Marshall Fellowship, are there any other awards you’re particularly proud of?

Silver Jubilee Award for the Best Outgoing Student, 2019 – National institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, India.
Research Society of Alcoholism, The Junior Investigator Award, 2021 funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) for my research on ‘Management of Adult ADHD with Atomoxetine and its impact on the course of Alcohol dependence – A naturalistic follow-up study’.

If you are an IMH member and would like to share more about yourself and your research with the community, please contact IMH Research Manager Dr. Nicole Sanford at nicole.sanford@ubc.ca.

Closures at David Strangway Building, UBCH, DMCBH and VGH

DMCBH: Temporary shutdown of emergency power required for annual maintenance

All emergency power receptacles (RED electrical outlets or emergency power designated outlets – please see the Emergency Electrical Outlets poster) will be without power.

The following will be affected:

All equipment plugged into emergency power receptacles
Elevators 1, 2 and 3
Emergency lighting
Freezers
Fans

ACTION REQUIRED: Equipment plugged into emergency power receptacles will need to be moved to normal power receptacles to operate during the shutdown.

Equipment that needs to remain powered on during shutdown:

Before June 29, please unplugall equipment currently plugged into emergency receptacles and re-plug into normal power receptacles until after the shutdown.
Upon returning to work on Tuesday, July 2, re-plug equipment into emergency power receptacles.

All other sensitive equipment: All other equipment currently plugged into emergency power receptacles must be properly powered down before June 29.

NOTE: During the shutdown, elevators 1, 2 and 3 will be out of service and there will be no lighting in stairwells. For your safety, we encourage you to avoid coming into the building during this time.

David Strangway Building

SERVICE:                       All high voltage electricity not on a back-up generator

SHUTDOWN FROM:      8:00 AM Saturday, June 15^th, 2025

SHUTDOWN TO: 6:00 PM Saturday, June 15^th, 2025

REASON: Maintenance to High Voltage Feeder 12F10

Feeder shutdowns are done every 5 years, and this exercise is designed to provide the campus with reliable power on our end (doesn’t include Hydro’s side). We’re simply doing everything in our “power” to ensure reliable electricity to all buildings.

NOTE: Please keep this date in mind when planning/booking events, exams, and classes around this date and time. My suggestion would be to simply block off this period of time as “busy”. As there will be no regular power, the building will be essentially shutdown during this timeframe. Because there are so many buildings impacted, these shutdowns are not cancelled last minute due to classes, events, etc. The shutdown will go on!

What to expect?

Regular power within your building will be off. Generator power will be active during this time if your building has a generator.

How this will affect you?

If your equipment is on generator power there will be a short power outage (10 – 20 seconds as the generator gets up to speed) then all gets transferred over. The same will happen when the power is restored at the end of this exercise.
If your equipment is not on generator power, please plan to power it down in advance of the shutdown.

Concerns?

If you have power sensitive equipment including computers, it’s highly recommended that the equipment be manually shutdown and unplugged during this maintenance.
If you have a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) this is a great opportunity to test out your equipment, if you don’t have one this is a great opportunity to look into and possibly purchase one (UPS won’t be supplied for the duration of this shutdown)
This is a great excuse to clean out general food storage fridges and freezers. What often happens is that occupants will return to their fridge/freezer and notice a mysterious puddle of water at the base of the unit and call in a maintenance request to have the issue looked into, only to find it was the result of the ice buildup in the freezer that has melted.

Road Closure near VGH

Another upcoming crane lift and road closure along Laurel street, scheduled for Thursday June 20^th from 6am to 3pm.

The crane and road closure will be located per the image below in the red box and yellow lines, between 10^th and 12^th Ave.

Vehicles will not be able to drive north/ south along Laurel St. as the crane will be a full road closure.
The underground parking will be open, accessible from 10^th Ave. The DHCC loading bay will remain accessible from 12^th Ave.
There will be traffic management personnel and signage on the day to help direct drivers & pedestrians.
Please note that some of the street parking along Laurel will be a temporary unavailable during this time to allow this work appropriate space. Please look out for street signage confirming which stalls are not available. Do not leave your vehicle parked in these spots overnight on Wednesday June 19^th into Thursday morning as the vehicle will be towed at owner’s expense.

Please see below an image which can help represent the extent of the closure.

UBC Hospital / DMCBH

Temporary shutdown of emergency power required for annual maintenance

All emergency power receptacles (RED electrical outlets or emergency power designated outlets – please see attached Emergency Electrical Outlets poster) will be without power.