PSYCHIATRY DIGEST - MCMASTER UNIVERSITY

Psychiatry Digest
                                                                                  August 6, 2020

From the desk of Nick Kates...

This issue of the Digest focuses on Anti-Black racism, and includes the list of resources
prepared by Suzanne Archie and Bev Pindar-Donick, which can be found on our website
here . You will also find a summary of a few selected resources below and I would
particularly recommend the video by Dr. Dayna Matthews (found at the end of the Digest)
on "Just Medicine".

And a reminder that the President's Advisory Committee on Building an Inclusive
Community (PACBIC) is seeking new members from McMaster. Students, staff, faculty and
in particular persons with disabilities, Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC),
women-identified and 2SLGBTQ+ are encouraged to apply. The deadine to apply is
Friday, August 14th. Application details can be found here .

Nick

                 Selected Resources About Anti-Black Racism

The 1619 Project - Is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began
in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to
reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions
of black Americans at the very center of their national narrative. Read the story here . You
will need to create a free account to continuing reading.

Science has a Racism Problem - An editorial in CELL (2019 Impact Factor = 38.6) speaks
to the disproportionately low proportion of research participants from Black communities
and the need to address educational and research opportunities involving Black people.
Full article here .

Book - “So you want to talk about Race”by Ijeoma Oluo - Is an easy read, foundational
enough for people beginning their journey to understanding racism and thought-provoking
and challenging enough for people who believe themselves to be well-versed on the
subject. In short, it is for everyone. This is one quote from the book: "When people of
color speak about systemic racism, they are opening up all of that pain and fear and
anger to you. They are not doing this because they enjoy it; it is an incredibly painful and
vulnerable experience. We do this because we have to, because systemic racism is killing
us. And yes, that pain and fear and anger will sometimes show in our words and our
actions. But to see all that pain, and how we fight still after entire lifetimes of struggles --
and then to tell us to be more polite is just plain cruel”.

And a YouTube Video - "Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man"(9 minutes) -
Emmanuel Acho sits down to have an “uncomfortable conversation” with white America,
in order to educate and inform on racism, system racism, social injustice, rioting and the
hurt African Americans are feeling today. View the video here .

                                   Department News

Congratulations to...

           Dante Duarte who received the 2020 Member in Training Research Award
           from the AAGP (American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry).

           Natasha Snelgrove who received an Outstanding Achievement Award at the
           Faculty of Health Sciences' Graduate Plenary for her Health Sciences Graduate
           Studies work.

Correction from the last Digest...

Marc Legault who will be working two days a week in the Family Health Team and one to
two days in the Niagara Campus First Episode Psychosis Program and not the Cleghorn
Program.

                      For anyone that is seeking permanent residency in Canada, please
                      attend a Zoom meeting that will provide information on steps to
                      take, hosted by Bake & McKenzie, today from 10:00am-Noon.
                      Please register here to be provided with a Zoom link.

                                        CoVID-19

Here is an article with data about the high prevalence of psychiatric disorders in patients
who had been hospitalized because of the Novel Coronavirus. Article.

And this is a very useful resource on the current situation in Ontario.How's My Flattening.

                                      Media News

Congratulations to...

               Jean Clinton on the publication of her first book, "Love Builds Brains". The
               book addresses and offers approaches to understand and respond to
               issues of anxiety, stress, behavour, attachment, resilience and recovery. To
               read more or order a copy, click here .

                                    Resident News

Congratulations to...

Madeline Wootton, PGY6 child and adolescent subspecialty resident, who was the recipient
of an Outstanding Resident of the Year award from HHS for 2020.

Tara Riddell (PGY5), Chris Clarkstone (PGY4) and Sandra Westcott (PGY4) whose abstract
was selected for a research poster presentation at this year's Canadian Psychiatric
Association, being held virtually later this year. The title of their presentation, which
started as a quality improvement project, is "Resident Wellness On Call: A Quality
Improvement Perspective in Emergency Psychiatry at McMaster University".

                                    Education News

On August 6th from 3:00-4:30pm the Provost's Office and the MacPherson Institute will be
holding a virtual Zoom on on Teaching Remotely - Accessible Learning! Registration is
required and can be found here .

                                    Research News

All faculty members who identify as researchers within the FHS are invited to join in
a Research Town Hall today, Thursday, August 6th from 3:00-4:30pm. The session will
have a mix of FHS leaders interested in listening to your challenges/ concerns. The goal is
to gain insights into what programming will be useful for researchers in the Fall of 2020 to
support continued success. Please register in advance here .

Participants are asked to complete a brief survey (here ) in advance of attending. We
highly encourage all faculty who identify as researchers to attend to share how you have
adjusted your research methods, challenges and concerns you currently face or have
overcome as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This information will help FHS and
McMaster’s Program for Faculty Development understand how best to support research
now and moving forward.

                                Race and Healthcare

The New England Journal of Medicine has compiled a collection of articles relating to race
and medicine, with implications for improving patient care, professional training, research,
and public health. Please visit their website to view the articles here .

The National Collaboration for Determinants of Health will be holding a webinar series on
racism, anti-racism and racial equity. To view these webinar recordings or related
resources, please visit their website here .

And this outstanding presentation, by Dayna Matthews, Dean of George Washington
University Law School, introduces the concept of " Just Medicine” as well as addressing
how to measure change in individual and systemic bias. View the presentation (which
takes a little over an hour) here .

                                    Stay Connected

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