UBC Psychiatry IT: Memos & Updates | April 2024

Dear Colleagues,

As our current Clinical Faculty Affairs Representative for Psychiatry, Dr. Joseph Tham, is nearing the end his term on June 30, 2024, the Department is now inviting self-nominations, or nominations on behalf of clinical faculty who are interested in this role. The commitment will be for a three-year term from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027.

The Clinical Faculty Affairs Representative serves as the crucial link between UBC Psychiatry and the Clinical Faculty Affairs office, and will participate in the Faculty of Medicine Clinical Faculty Advisory Council, an advisory group consisting of representatives from each department with the Faculty of Medicine, as well in other committees within the Department.

General Responsibilities include:

• Representing the interests of Clinical Faculty across the province.

• Serving as liaison between our Clinical Faculty and the Faculty of Medicine.

• Working to foster and promote career development initiatives and opportunities for Clinical Faculty.

• Identifying issues of concern to Clinical Faculty, and developing and recommending actions to address them.

• Supporting the interprofessional mandate of the Faculty of Medicine by hearing and considering perspectives from all Faculty of Medicine programs.

Specific Responsibilities include:

• Presenting important issues and concerns of the Department to the Director of Clinical Affairs at Clinical Faculty Advisory Council meetings.

• Communicating information on relevant Faculty of Medicine initiatives to Clinical Faculty members in the Department.

• Discussing academic and administrative changes arising in the Faculty of Medicine, considering the potential impacts of them on Clinical Faculty, and gathering input from Clinical Faculty regarding that potential impact.

• Participating on the following committees**:

Within the Faculty of Medicine:          

• Clinical Faculty Advisory Council; meets approx. every two months or at the call of the chair.

Within the Department:  

• Clinical Faculty Appointment and Promotion Committee (CFAPC); meets twice a year in Spring and Fall to review case files

• Departmental Executive Committee; meets on the first Thursday of each month at 8.00am (usually September through June)

• Departmental Advisory Committee; meets biannually in May and November

• Awards & Recognition Committee; meeting schedule to be determined

• Any other Department Committees, as needed

**Eligible for compensation as per the Clinical Faculty Compensation Terms for Standing Committees and Search Committees for Senior Leadership. 

We encourage you to review the Terms of Reference for the FoM Clinical Faculty Advisory Council here: https://mednet.med.ubc.ca/committees/clinical-faculty-advisory-council/

If you are interested in this role (or would like to nominate a colleague), please email Margaret Koshi, Director, Administration (margaret.koshi@ubc.ca ) with a brief rationale and a biographical summary by April 30, 2024.

Please note that an election will be held if there are two or more nominees.

Sincerely,

Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Dr. Anson Koo, Associate Head, Clinical Affairs and Partnerships, 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).

** Sent on Behalf of Dr. Sophia Frangou, Associate Head, Research, UBC Department of Psychiatry **

Dear Clinical Faculty Colleagues

We are looking forward to welcoming you to the 2024 Annual Departmental Research Day. 

The Departmental Research Day serves as our annual platform to highlight groundbreaking research, showcasing academic achievements and fostering a spirit of equity, inclusivity, and diversity. It underscores our department’s position as a global leader for work and study.

The meeting will take place on Thursday June 13, 2024, from 8:45am to 4:00pm, at the UBC main campus. All events will take place at the Life Sciences Centre (LSC), 2350 Health Sciences Mall (West Atrium & Lecture Theatre 3). While the meeting is offered in a hybrid format, we encourage in-person attendance for those who are able to join.

Please note that the University of British Columbia Division of Continuing Professional Development (UBC CPD) is fully accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME) to provide study credits for continuing medical education for physicians. This event is an Accredited Group Learning Activity (Section 1) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and has been approved by UBC CPD for up to 4 MOC Section 1 Group Learning credits. Each physician should claim only those credits accrued through participation in the activity.

The main theme this year is on social aspects of mental health as determinants of risk or resilience for mental conditions and access to care.  Our Keynote speaker is Professor Kwame McKenzie who is the CEO of the Wellesley Institute and serves as Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and as the Director of Health Equity at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).   Dr. McKenzie is an international expert on the social causes of illness and his research has influenced local, national, and international policy and health systems for more than three decades.

The plenary lecture will be complemented by state-of-the-art talks and lightning talks and posters featuring work from researchers at all career stages, including IMH Marshall Fellows and Stimulus Grants Awardees. The event will conclude with the presentation of poster, lighting talks and early career awards.

This event is open to everyone at the UBC Department of Psychiatry and beyond. For more details visit: https://psychiatry.ubc.ca/research/2024-research-day/ 

We very much look forward to seeing you at this event.

Dr. Sophia Frangou
Chair of the Organizing Committee
Associate Head- Research 

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

Dear Department members,

As you all are aware, following the resignation of Ms. Vicky Yau in February,  the Department commenced a search and recruitment process for the role of Director, Administration with the Department of Psychiatry. That process has now concluded and I am delighted to share that Ms. Margaret Koshi is the successful candidate; she has accepted this position and will assume this new role effective April 1. 

Margaret is well known to all of you in her role as the Manager of Communications and Partnerships for the Department since 2019. Prior to that, she served as our Assistant Human Resources Manager for Faculty from 2014 to 2019. With her wealth of internal knowledge, excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the diverse administrative experience she has gained during her ten years as a member of Psychiatry’s managerial team, I am confident she will make a successful transition to this new role.

Vicky has kindly agreed to continue to support the Department during the transition process and we expect a gradual handover of tasks over the next couple of months. During this period, please continue to work with Vicky on ongoing items, and also copy Margaret in your emails and requests to facilitate a smooth transition.

As Margaret assumes this new role, we will soon be initiating a recruitment process for the Communications Manager role, however in the meantime, please continue to connect with Margaret at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca on Communications-related requests.

Please join me in warmly congratulating Margaret as she steps into this key role on the UBC Psychiatry Administration Team! 

Sincerely,

Dr. Lakshmi N. Yatham, MBBS, FRCPC, MRCPsych (UK), MBA (Exec)
Professor and Head, UBC Department of Psychiatry
Director, Institute of Mental Health, UBC
Regional Head and Program Medical Director, VCH/PHC

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).

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.

Parachute

USA 2023 (97 min DCP)
Director: Brittany Snow
Wednesday April 10th @ 7:00pm
The Cinematheque (1131 Howe St)

Film Description

The night after leaving a treatment recovery centre for an eating disorder and suicide attempt, Riley (Courtney Eaton, Yellowjackets) finds herself bored at a karaoke bar. There she meets Ethan (Thomas Mann), a charming friend of a friend. The two twentysomethings hit it off, entwining themselves in a years-long ​“situationship” that teeters between friendship and romance. Ethan is smitten by Riley and does everything he can to subvert the distorted image she holds of herself. Riley, whose self-loathing tendencies can be difficult to watch, supports Ethan as he struggles to connect with his alcoholic father. Underneath witty banter and Gen‑Z pop culture references, this directorial debut from actor Brittany Snow (Pitch Perfect, Hairspray) offers a refreshing romantic drama that explores the messy reality of codependent relationships.

Special Jury Award for Performance (Courney Eaton)T
Thunderbird Rising Special Award (Brittany Snow)
SXSW 2023

Share

Tweet

Forward

“A gentle, earnest indie about love, self-loathing, and other dependencies … Deeply felt and certainly proves that [Snow] has a promisingly deft directorial hand.” — Jessica Kiang, Variety

“Smart and compassionate … There have been movies before about women with eating disorders. But this may be one of the first for the Gen Z and younger generations that nails just how tentacular the psychology of such conditions can be.” — Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter

Post-screening Discussion:

Post-screening discussion with Maude Henri-Bhargava, RD, and Lauren Jennings, MOT. Moderated by Dr. Harry Karlinsky, Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia

About the Panel:

Maude Henri-Bhargava is a registered dietitian working at St. Paul’s Hospital’s Provincial Adult Tertiary & Specialized Adult Eating Disorders program. For more than a decade, she has helped individuals create or reignite a healthy relationship with food and their bodies through an inclusive, trauma-informed, and anti-diet lens.

Lauren Jennings is an occupational therapist who has been working in the Provincial Adult Tertiary & Specialized Adult Eating Disorders program at St. Paul’s Hospital for over a decade. In the midst of obtaining a master’s in counselling psychology at Adler University, she is passionate about working in the field of eating disorders and challenging biases and stigma around mental health.

Dr. Harry Karlinsky, the Series Director of Frames of Mind and a Clinical Professor in the UBC Department of Psychiatry, has a longstanding commitment to professional and public education. He has presented nationally and internationally on topics ranging from Alzheimer’s disease to information technology to narrative medicine to PTSD and to the use of films in health care education.

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!