Katharine Thomson

Call for Applications for the 2023/2024 UBC IMH Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health

The IMH and UBC Department of Psychiatry invite applications for Fellowship awards supported by the Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health.

In Memoriam: Dr. Neil J. Yorkston, Professor Emeritus

Dear Colleagues,

I am deeply saddened to share that Professor Emeritus and former Department Head Dr. Neil J. Yorkston passed away on February 20, 2023 at the age of 94. As an active member of our faculty and Department leadership through the 1980s, Dr. Yorkston was an accomplished scholar and clinician who was highly esteemed by colleagues not only at UBC, but also in Australia, the UK, and beyond. I join his many friends and peers around the world who have received this news with heavy hearts, and suffice to say we will all miss him a great deal.

Dr. Yorkston’s long and exemplary career began in Australia, where he obtained his medical degree at Sydney University in 1952. Following his residency in internal medicine, he completed his training in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene at Sydney University before relocating with his young family to a region of Ethiopia (now Eritrea) where he served as a medical missionary and head of the medical department at the Haile Selassie 1 Naval Base from 1958 to 1960. Thereafter, Dr. Yorkston and his family moved to the UK, where he completed his Diploma in Psychiatry and worked at Bethlem Royal Hospital and Maudsley Hospital for a number years. His call to academia came in 1967, when Dr. Yorkston obtained a number of research grants which facilitated his appointment as an Assistant Professor at Temple University. He was later recruited to the University of Minnesota as an Associate Professor, where he published numerous papers in leading journals such as The Lancet and Archives of General Psychiatry, and also authored an influential book titled Psychotherapy Versus Behavior Therapy.

Following his academic appointments and a return to clinical work in the UK for several years, Dr. Yorkston and his family immigrated to Vancouver when he was appointed as a full tenured Professor and Head of the UBC Department of Psychiatry in 1980. His arrival to UBC was warmly welcomed, as he was by this time a renowned researcher in his diverse areas of expertise, which included psychopharmacological studies in schizophrenia and in psychotherapies for patients with neurosis and other personality disorders. During his term as Head, he helped lead the Department on a course toward growth and transformation while navigating through a difficult fiscal climate at UBC; indeed, Dr. Yorkston was among a cadre of early academic leaders who helped build our Department into the modern, world-class centre of learning and research that it is to day.

Dr. Yorkston gradually retired from teaching and research activities in the early 1990s, returning to the UK to practice as a locum psychiatrist for several years before settling into full retirement in North Vancouver. As an Emeritus faculty member he continued to maintain his ties with the Department, most notably in his reliable attendance at our Annual Research Days year after year. He clearly enjoyed attending the talks on up-and-coming themes in research, and it was wonderful to see him engaging with young investigators and staying connected with the academic world in which he had been entrenched for so many decades.

Dr. Yorkston will be remembered not only as a visionary scholar and a gifted clinician, but also as a true gentleman whose warmth, humour and kindness touched many. The news of his passing will surely come with a deep sense of loss to all of his friends, colleagues, and former students here at UBC and around the world, who had the distinct privilege to both learn from and work alongside him over the decades.

If you wish to send a personal message to the family, please do so by visiting his memorial page here. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a donation to Overseas Missionary Fellowship (https://omf.org/ ), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada (https://www.bloodcancers.ca/), or Peace Arch Hospice Society (https://www.peacearchhospice.org/). A Memorial Service will be held at Shaughnessy Heights United Church in Vancouver at 2pm on Saturday March 25th, 2023, with a reception immediately afterwards in the Church Hall. A link to livestream of the service will also be available on the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIUw3bv6SiU.

On behalf of the UBC Department of Psychiatry, I send my sincerest condolences to Dr. Yorkston’s children and the rest of his family during this most difficult time.

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).

In Memoriam: Dr. William Piper, Professor Emeritus

Dear Colleagues,

It is with profound sadness that I share the news that Professor Emeritus Dr. William (Bill) Piper passed away last week at the age of 77. As many of you are aware, Dr. Piper was a very highly respected researcher and colleague in the UBC Department of Psychiatry and across the broader mental health community. He leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of impact and achievement, particularly in the area of psychotherapy, and the loss of Dr. Piper will be felt deeply amongst his many colleagues and friends at UBC and beyond.

Dr. Piper’s distinguished academic career began at McGill in 1973, where he was first appointed as an Assistant Professor following his PhD training at the University of Connecticut and practice in clinical psychology with the US Navy. At McGill, he was promoted to Associate Professor prior to transferring in 1985 to the University of Alberta, where he remained until 1997 when he was appointed in the UBC Department of Psychiatry as a full Professor.

As an extremely dedicated and highly engaged member of our faculty, Dr. Piper was a passionate and vocal champion for psychotherapy, which was still a fledgling field in our Department in the 1990s. His vision and advocacy led to the establishment of the UBC Psychotherapy Program, for which he served as Founding Director for many years. Importantly, it was under his leadership that the Program flourished over the years into a thriving academic unit that supported innovative research, clinical services, as well as an integral component of psychiatry residency training at UBC.

As a researcher, Dr. Piper was internationally renowned for his outstanding contributions to psychotherapy, specifically in understanding the interplay between patient characteristics and therapy outcome, and was among the world’s foremost investigators in this area. He produced a long list of publications, many of which were published in highly ranked journals such as Archives of General Psychiatry, and also co-authored several books and numerous book chapters. His many achievements were duly recognized in the form of prestigious awards and honours, including the Distinguished Research Career Award from the Society for Psychotherapy Research, as well as inductions as a Fellow to the American Psychological Association and the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association, and as a Distinguished Fellow to the American Group Psychotherapy Association.

Prior to his formal retirement in 2011, Dr. Piper was a constant fixture and a welcome presence in the offices and halls of UBC Hospital, and later, at the David Strangway Building. His UBC colleagues will fondly remember Dr. Piper for his kindness, graciousness and collegiality, and the generous mentorship he provided to many junior colleagues, students and trainees. The loss of Dr. Piper will also surely resonate across his wider circle of friends and peers with whom he had built productive and lasting relationships. Needless to say, Dr. Piper will be deeply missed by us all.

As the Department wishes to honour Dr. Piper’s memory and celebrate his many important contributions to the UBC Psychotherapy Program, including his leadership in founding the Program, the existing UBC Psychiatry Postgraduate Psychotherapy Award will be renamed and henceforth entitled the Dr. William E. Piper Memorial Award in Psychotherapy. This award will continue to recognize, on an annual basis, residents who have demonstrated strong interest and outstanding development in the area of psychotherapy.

On behalf of the UBC Department of Psychiatry, I send my sincerest condolences to his wife, Martha, and the rest of the Piper family during this most difficult time.

Sincerely,

Request for Psychiatrists to Participate in the Psychiatry Summer Immersion Program (Mon June 5 to Tues June 6)

*** Sent on behalf of Dr. Clare Beasley and the Psychiatry Summer Immersion Program ***

Dear Faculty,

After two successful years, the Department of Psychiatry 4th annual Psychiatry Summer Immersion Program will take place Monday June 5 – Tuesday June 6, 2023. The 2-day program provides an opportunity for 1st Year undergraduate medical students to explore the field of psychiatry as a potential career option through engagement with psychiatrists and psychiatry residents. Each day consists of half-day interactive talks, and half-day clinical shadowing (observership) placements.

Talks

The purpose of the talks is for students to hear the about the broad range of subspecialties and career options within psychiatry. As a speaker, you will share your career path and provide insights into your subspecialty. Talks take place in the morning and are 35 minutes long with an additional 5 minutes for Q&A.

Shadowing

The purpose of shadowing is for students to meet and observe psychiatrists at work in a broad range of subspecialties and settings. Shadowing sessions take place in the afternoon and should last 2 to 3 hours.

Locations

Site	Talks location	Shadowing
Vancouver	Diamond Health Care Centre	within Metro Vancouver
Victoria*	Royal Jubilee Hospital	in Victoria
Kelowna*	n/a*	n/a*
Prince George*	University Hospital of Northern BC	in Prince George

*Insufficient student numbers to run the program at Kelowna this year. While it is anticipated that the program will be run in Prince George and Victoria, this is dependent on final student numbers.

Remuneration

Talks – $91.80/hour (pro-rated)

Shadowing Supervision – $91.80/session with 1 student; $112.21/session with 2 students

Sign Up

You can sign up to be a speaker and/or a shadowing supervisor here 2023 PSIP Faculty Sign Up.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Clare Beasley (clare.beasley@ubc.ca) or Amit Natt (amit.natt@ubc.ca).

Best regards,

Clare Beasley

Save the Date: CBD Workshop

** Sent on behalf of Dr. Charles Ho, Competence By Design (CBD) Faculty Lead, Postgraduate Psychiatry Program **

Dear Faculty,

Please join us for an online webinar titled “CBD Psychiatry Workshop for PGY4 Supervisors – PGY4’s in the Core Stage”. The webinar’s goal is to help you prepare for and describe what you need to know for the Core Stage of training in CBD for the incoming PGY4 cohort.

This webinar is for all faculty, but particularly for those who will be supervising the incoming PGY4 residents.

CBD Psychiatry Workshop for PGY4 Supervisors – PGY4’s in Core Stage

Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Time: 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Location: Zoom (Details to come)

Workshop Theme: This workshop focuses on the PGY4 Foundation stage of residency training. Discussion will include:

Core Stage Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA’s)
Competencies and Training Experiences required for PGY4 residents in the new model
Review on how to fill out an EPA on Entrada
Question & Answer Period

Please register through the link by Friday, April 28^th:

PGY4 CBD Workshop Sign Up Link

Sincerely,

Dr. Charles Ho, FRCPC
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
Competence By Design (CBD) Faculty Lead, Psychiatry Postgraduate Education Program
Chair and Member of the Scientific Planning Committee
UBC Department of Psychiatry

The UBC Department of Psychiatry, located at the Vancouver UBC Campus, 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).

NEW PUBLICATION: Study Examines Experiences of Stigmatization, Neglect and Pain Management in ER for People Who Use Substances

A new study published in PLOS One examines the experiences, including those related to stigmatization, neglect and pain management, of people who use substances and who have left the hospital against medical advice. The team of researchers, which includes Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Verena Langheimer, also examined the impact of their experiences in the Emergency Department on future health care use. While the study did not include healthcare providers’ feedback or the context under which the patient left the hospital, the team is hoping to understand more about the structural vulnerabilities that people who use substances face in the Emergency Department, in the hope this understanding will improve and inform care.

A Statement from Dr. Leona Adams, FoM Co-Lead on Respectful Environments, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

Clinical Assistant Professor and FoM Postgraduate Faculty Associate Co-Lead for Anti-Racism, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Dr. Leona Adams has shared an important statement on Accountability and Progression Towards Redressing Structural Anti-Black Racism, for your review and reflection:

So, as you see, there is still much to do. I return however to Dr. Ono’s exhortation as he closed his statement back in 2020: “to racialized students and colleagues at UBC: this is not the first time in history that you have experienced heightened stigmatization and racism. You are strong and resilient and will thrive in the face of this as you have done throughout history. Please don’t let racism cloud your spirit. Go and be the brilliant minds and compassionate hearts that you are, and continue to shine at UBC. You belong here.”

Call for Applications for the 2023/2024 UBC Institute of Mental Health (IMH) Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the call for applications for the UBC Institute of Mental Health (IMH) Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health for 2023/2024. The Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health was established in 2019 by the IMH to support the training of young investigators in translational research in order to create research capacity in mental health.

The IMH, in partnership with the Department of Psychiatry, is now inviting applications from qualified candidates for Fellowship awards, which will be supported by the Marshall Fellows Program in Mental Health. Please see the Application Guidelines for more detailed information regarding the requirements and criteria for this award. This year, in accordance with the original award funding plan, the program will fund stipends of $75,000 for up to six (6) Fellows. Since the Fellowship Program was originally developed to support the training of clinician scientist psychiatrists, a minimum of three (3) awards will be allocated to MDs. The duration of funding is for one year only, however Fellows may have an opportunity to apply for a one-year extension of funding in the following year. Current Fellows in their first year of funding in 2022/2023 may apply for an extension in 2023/2024 for a second and final year of funding.

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, and I would like to ask that this information be circulated widely.

Applicants must submit their applications online at: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dapaPWNEA6wUsCi by Friday May 19, 2023 (11:59 pm PST).

If you have questions or require further information regarding these awards, please contact Vicky Yau, Director, Administration, at vicky.yau@ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

February 2023 Update from the Research and Scholarly Activity Committee

2020-2023 Annual Resident Publication and Presentation Record

A new (2022-23) Qualtrics form has been added the department website to enable residents to easily report their annual publications and presentations. As part of the Accreditation Standards, the Program is required to collect all resident publication and presentation records annually. Please note that these records are also used to help inform decisions about annual resident research awards. Access the form via: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1G5W1J8YzRmJUhw

2023 Research and Scholarly Activity Committee Meeting Dates

A reminder that the dates of the committee’s quarterly meetings through 2023 are as follows:

February 23^rd 2023 (submission deadline Feb 16^th)
April 27^th 2023 (submission deadline Apr 20^th)
September 14^th 2023 (submission deadline Sept 7^th)
November 16^th 2023 (submission deadline Nov 9^th)

**Please note that the committee requires submissions of abstracts/final reports to be made one week in advance of the meeting to enable a thorough review of all the documents, thank you.

Resident-Faculty Connection Corner

We have a resident seeking a co-supervisor for their project. The resident has already initiated their project, a narrative review of community gardens as psychosocial interventions for refugees and migrants. They have one supervisor (a psychiatrist from the Division of Social and Transcultural Psychiatry at McGill) but require a co-supervisor based in our department. Please contact Erin Michalak (erin.michalak@ubc.ca) by email if you would like to be connected with them to learn more.

General Information

You can find copies of all relevant documentation relating to scholarly activity on the department website here: https://psychiatry.ubc.ca/education-programs/postgraduate-education-scholarly-activity/scholarlyactivity-project/

If you have questions or need support relating to scholarly activity please contact Dr. Erin Michalak, Associate Program Director, Research and Scholarly Activity, via erin.michalak@ubc.ca or contact your regional committee lead directly.

The Research and Scholarly Activity Committee is responsible for ensuring that our department’s residency program meets Royal College training objectives for research and scholarly activity. Specific responsibilities include the identification, development, enhancement, promotion, monitoring and evaluation of resident scholarly activity projects, and ensuring that objectives relating to research and scholarly activity are integrated throughout our educational program. The committee meets quarterly, at which time resident submissions of their project abstract submissions and final scholarly activity reports are reviewed.