Mohan Isaac’s research while affiliated with University of the Western Cape and other places

GHPUs providing postgraduate psychiatry degree courses can be divided into two broad categories: one belonging to medical colleges under the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the other belonging to Institutes of National Importance (INIs). The former has an annual system; that is, postgraduate entries and final degree exams are conducted annually and follow a yearly curriculum system. The latter has a biannual system; that is, postgraduate entries and final degree exams occur every six months, and have adopted a semester system. The traditional annual examination system is inherited from the British method of medical education; however, subsequent universities and INIs, including GHPUs, essentially adopted an alternative semester system for higher medical education promoted by the Bologna declaration. It offers the advantages of frequent assessments, feedback, a better student–teacher interface, and a better learning trajectory

Background: The need for psychotherapy training (PT) has been recognized worldwide and is considered an integral component of postgraduate psychiatry training. Our study aims to assess the quality of PT received by psychiatrists during their postgraduate studies and its impact on their current practice. Aim: To evaluate the quality of PT and its effect on the current psychiatry practice. Methodology: An anonymous web‑based survey was conducted on registered psychiatrists practicing in India to evaluate the level and quality of PT received during their postgraduate studies. Results: The survey indicates that PT was included in the postgraduate psychiatry curriculum (73.8%). However, more than 50% of responders reported no separate posting, evaluation, logbook, or guidelines related to PT. Most (95.4%) psychiatrists think their PT could have been better. PT was satisfying in medical colleges in terms of inclusion in the curriculum (7.70, P = .021), psychotherapy rotations (16.48, P = <0.001), supervision of sessions (14.80, P = 0.001), lectures on psychotherapy (10.13, P = 0.006), periodic psychotherapy meet/forum (19.35, P = <0.001), maintenance of psychotherapy logbook/records (7.65, P = 0.022), institutional or departmental guideline related to PT (20.55, P = <0.001), and overall quality of PT (22.05, P = .005 and 31.81, P = <.001). Time constraint is the most common (49.9%) barrier in delivering psychotherapy. Conclusion: PT is not well organized, consistent, and uniform in psychiatry training; there is a prevailing sense of inadequacy and dissatisfaction among the country’s psychiatrists with a perceived need to improve and learn PT.

Two-year experience of ITOP-STEPS scholarship program