Published online Oct 28, 2021. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v9.i5.405
Peer-review started: April 20, 2021
First decision: July 14, 2021
Revised: August 6, 2021
Accepted: September 4, 2021
Article in press: September 4, 2021
Published online: October 28, 2021
Processing time: 191 Days and 5.1 Hours
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has significantly altered many aspects of our professional lives, including how psychiatry as a medical discipline is taught and learnt. Training in psychiatry relies on developing competencies through observing and interacting with patients, developing empathic consultation skills and seeking feedback from colleagues derived from cognitive and constructivist theories of learning, in a time-bound manner. The pandemic has drawn attention to the dual role of psychiatry residents as both trainees and physicians, with a pressing identity crisis at an inopportune time. This paper aims to illustrate some of the emerging themes in psychiatry training during the pandemic and some solutions for the same.
Core Tip: There is an urgent need to streamline processes for entry and exit to a psychiatry training program, where it does not exist. Utilizing alternative modes of assessment including anonymized colleague, peer and patient feedback can supplement online assessment tools. Curricular adjustments taking current circumstances into account would be well appreciated by trainees. The most important recommendation we propose is provision of formalised intensive training around teleconsultation skills, using simulated scenarios followed by assessment, in addition to guidelines and modus operandi around remote working.