Julian-Khôi-Huu Nguyen

Julian-Khôi-Huu Nguyen

Clinical Instructor, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Email: juliankhoihuu.nguyen@vch.ca

UBC Department of Psychiatry Staffing Update | March 2025

Dear Department members,

I am delighted to share that Mr. Ahsan Sahibzada has been promoted to the role of Postgraduate Program Manager in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, effective March 10, 2025. As you are all aware, this role has been vacant upon the departure of Ms. Linda Chang last month, and we are very excited for this advancement opportunity for Ahsan, who had been doing a fantastic job as PGE Senior Program Assistant over the last three and a half years.

As our new Postgraduate Program Manager, Ahsan will support and provide oversight to the Department’s general psychiatry specialty program and three postgraduate subspecialty residency training programs. Additionally, he will provide organizational support to the annual CaRMS process, as well as resident semi-annual reviews, resident status and leaves, and accreditation surveys. With Ahsan assuming his new role, we have initiated a recruitment process for the role of Senior Program Assistant, PGE. In the meantime, please continue to connect with Ahsan at ahsan.sahibzada@ubc.ca on related matters.

Please join us in congratulating Ahsan on this well-deserved promotion!

Additionally, I would like to share that our Manager of Communications & Partnerships, Ms. Megan Rollerson will be on a leave of absence from April 1 to June 30, 2025. As such, during this period, please direct:

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).

Attn: PHSA faculty and postgraduate learners| Please complete the PGME learning environment survey

Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) are committed to seeking ongoing feedback about the educational environment at all major teaching sites. In collaboration with Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) leadership, PGME are seeking faculty and postgraduate learner input on the work and learning environment via a short survey.  Previous feedback has resulted in actions which have initiated some positive culture change and this collaborative work is ongoing.

The PHSA (BCCW, Forensic Hospital, etc.) learning environment survey seeks to better understand the experience, scope and impact of the learning environment issues affecting residents, fellows, and faculty who work and train at these sites. Quantitative results will be shared with Health Authority Leadership, faculty, residents, and programs. Each comment will be reviewed by PGME leadership and shared with the senior and executive level Health Authority personnel.  Ongoing collaboration amongst all invested partners will be key in developing recommendations and action items to realize improvements.

We greatly value your input and expect the survey to take approximately 5 minutes to complete.

The PHSA survey will remain open until March 28, 2025. For any questions in regards to the survey, you are welcome to reach out to PGME at: pgme.educational.environment@ubc.ca

Sincerely,

Sonia Butterworth BSc MD FRCSC 
Assistant Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education Clinical Professor, 
Department of Surgery Faculty of Medicine | University of British Columbia   

Ravi S. Sidhu MD MEd FRCSC 
Associate Dean, Postgraduate Medical Education Associate Professor, 
Department of Surgery Faculty of Medicine | University of British Columbia 

Do You Practice Addiction, Emergency, Forensic, Reproductive Mental Health, or Sexual Medicine Psychiatry? | Teaching Opportunity: 6th Annual Psychiatry Summer Immersion Program

Dear Faculty,

We are currently looking for shadowing supervisors for the Department of Psychiatry’s 6th annual Psychiatry Summer Immersion Program, which will take place Monday, June 2 and Tuesday, June 3, 2025. The two-day program provides an opportunity for 1st Year medical students to explore the field of psychiatry as a potential career option through engagement with psychiatrists and psychiatry residents.

If you practice any of the following specialties and interested in providing shadowing opportunities for the students, please sign up from here:

  • Addiction Psychiatry
  • Emergency Psychiatry
  • Forensic Psychiatry
  • Reproductive Mental Health
  • Sexual Medicine

Shadowing sessions take place on the Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning and should last approximately 3 hours.

SiteTalks LocationShadowing
VancouverDiamond Health Care Centrewithin Metro Vancouver
KelownaKelowna General HospitalKelowna
Prince GeorgeUniversity Hospital of Northern BCPrince George

Shadowing Supervision – $106.03/session with 1 student; $129.59/session with 2 students

Please sign up from here or by the link below:
https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0AL3QtRU3nUkar4. The sign-up deadline is April 24, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Clare Beasley (clare.beasley@ubc.ca) or Ikuko Azuma (psychiatry.projects@ubc.ca).

Best,

Ikuko Azuma
Project Manager
UBC Department of Psychiatry

CaRMS 2025 Psychiatry Program Match Results

March 4, 2025

CaRMS Match Day

Today was the CaRMS Match Day for the incoming class in July 2025, and we are pleased to let you know that we have done well again this year. The caliber of residents that are coming to us are very high and we are excited to welcome them all!

We have matched all of our spots across the province except for 2 positions in the Prince George Track. Hence, we will be going to the 2nd iteration process where we will interview other candidates for these 2 spots in the coming weeks.  

Thanks to all of you who contributed to the very important selections process.

Warm regards,

Dr. Irfan Khanbhai MD, FRCPC
Clinical Associate Professor
Director, Postgraduate Education Program
Interim Associate Head, PGE & CPD 
UBC Department of Psychiatry

Chithra Pream Raju

Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Psychiatry

Email: chithra.preamraju@ubc.ca

FRAMES OF MIND Mental Health Film Series | “Witches”, Wednesday, March 19 | The Cinematheque

A monthly film series promoting professional and community education on issues pertaining to mental health and illness. Presented by The Cinematheque and the Institute of Mental Health, UBC Department of Psychiatry. Screenings are generally held on the third Wednesday of each month at The Cinematheque, 1131 Howe St, Vancouver, BC.

Film Description

Grounded in her own story of being admitted to a psychiatric ward within a month of giving birth to her son, Witches writer-director Elizabeth Sankey shares her deeply personal experience of postpartum depression: ​“I need you to know how it feels to lose your mind completely. I want you to see what I saw; feel what I felt. While I survived, far too many have not.” With clever and unflinching prose, Sankey’s narration weaves her own story with astute pop-culture analysis of the cultural myths and symbolism surrounding witches, illustrating the terrifying and often misunderstood reality of postpartum depression, maternal OCD, and psychosis. Clips from films such as Häxan (1922), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and The Witch (2015) are intercut alongside interviews with medical professionals, academics, and mothers with lived experience of postpartum illnesses to illuminate the stigma surrounding maternal mental health and emphasize the importance of solidarity and peer support.

Share Tweet Forward


Post-screening Discussion:

Post-screening discussion with Dr. Deirdre Ryan, clinical associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UBC.

Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, the Series Director of Frames of Mind and a Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry.


Want to be a regular at Frames of Mind screenings on the third Wednesday of every month? Subscribe to the email list and be the first in line for tickets!

Save the Date: Psychiatry Graduation Gala | Friday, June 6, 2025

Dear Residents, Faculty, and Staff,

Please save the date on your calendar and join us on celebrating the Postgraduate Psychiatry Grad Gala 2025. 

Date: Friday, June 6, 2025
Venue: Sage Restaurant
Address: University Centre, 526331 Crescent Rd

Please stay tuned for more details and a forthcoming invite.

Sincerely,

Raquel Portillo Henriquez 
Senior Program Assistant, PGE
UBC Department of Psychiatry

Department of Psychiatry Grand Rounds | March 4 with Dr. Daniel Vigo

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

  1. Click the “Download calendar” link above
  2. For Outlook users: Simply double-click the downloaded file to add the events. *Please note, the events may open as a new calendar -simply drag or copy them to your preferred calendar
  3. For other calendar apps: Open the file with your preferred calendar application

The Grand Rounds are a self-approved group learning activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification program of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Vigo, named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list 2025

UBC Department of Psychiatry Associate Professor Dr. Daniel Vigo has been named to Vancouver Magazine’s Power 50 list 2025, for taking action against an epidemic.

“In June, Premier David Eby announced the appointment of Dr. Vigo as B.C.’s chief scientific advisor for psychiatry, toxic drugs and concurrent disorders, and since then, Eby has regularly referred to him as the guide for his institutionalization policy.”

Read the full article here…

Join us in congratulating Dr. Vigo on this well-deserved recognition!