St Vincent's Hospital, FairviewSt Vincent's Hospital, Fairview

Education & Training

Medicine

St. Vincent’s has a long tradition in undergraduate and postgraduate education and training. It has well established links with the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, University College Dublin, Dublin City University (www.dcu.ie) and Trinity College Dublin.

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Undergraduate Training

Medical students from RCSI and UCD undertake attachments in psychiatry in St. Vincent’s and its affiliated community services where they gain exposure to acute inpatient psychiatry and community psychiatry.


Basic Specialist Training

The College of Psychiatry of Ireland is responsible for all aspects of post graduate training in psychiatry in Ireland. Basic specialist trainees working in St. Vincent’s are rotating through the Mater / UCD training scheme in psychiatry. There is a college tutor who oversees training. Trainees in conjunction with their trainers define learning outcomes for their period of training and are helped meet these during the weekly hour of educational supervision. Midpoint and end of attachment reviews are carried out with trainees by the tutor and supervising consultant. Trainees are required to carry out an audit during their placement and are supported in this.

Opportunities exist for trainees to obtain teaching experience due to the regular stream of medical students from RCSI and UCD. Trainees participate in a weekly case based discussion group and are offered supervision in CBT, CAT and family therapy. There is a weekly academic programme and trainees participate in the case and journal presentation components. Trainees are supported in their preparation for the membership of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) and Diploma in Clinical Psychiatry (DCP) exams.


Mater / UCD Training Scheme

Recruitment to the scheme is done on an annual basis and this is overseen by the College of Psychiatry of Ireland. Applicants are asked to rank their choice of the 13 training schemes.

Training opportunities exist in the following specialties:
General Adult Psychiatry
Psychiatry of Old Age
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Liaison Psychiatry
Rehabilitation Psychiatry
Addiction Psychiatry
Forensic Psychiatry


Clinical Sites

The training scheme encompasses both urban and rural locations and trainees can gain a wide range of clinical experience. Consideration will be given to those who request to do much of their training in one geographic area of the scheme. All trainees commence their training with general adult psychiatry.

St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview, Dublin 3, Mater Misericordiae Hospital Dublin 7, Our Lady’s Hospital Navan Co. Meath and St. Brigid’s Hospital Ardee, Co. Louth and their affiliated community services are the locations for general adult psychiatry.

St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview, the Department of Psychiatry of Old Age in the Mater Hospital, Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, Our Lady’s Hospital Navan and St. Brigid’s Hospital Ardee and their affiliated community services are the sites for psychiatry of old age.
The Mater Child and Adolescent Service and St. James’ Hospital Dublin 8 are the locations for child and adolescent psychiatry. St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview provides a unique opportunity to work in an adolescent inpatient unit, one of only three such units in the public health service in Ireland. The Child and Adolescent Unit is a tertiary referral service, which serves north Dublin and the north east of Ireland. It opened in 2009.

There is a multidisciplinary liaison team in the Mater Hospital with well developed links to neurology and cardiology. Liaison psychiatry is very much part of the training experience in general adult psychiatry in the Meath and Louth services, in psychiatry of old age and in the addiction service based in Trinity Court.

There are posts in rehabilitation psychiatry in St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview and St. Brendan’s Hospital Dublin 7. The posts in St. Brendan’s Hospital also offer experience in working with the homeless team and in managing patients in a low security setting.


Research

There is an established culture of research in the services affiliated with the training scheme.


Recent publications by scheme trainees:

  • O'Callaghan C, Aaron YL. Liew AYL, Yusof MSD, Duffy R, Breen EG, Kinsley B, Kelly BD. Screening for metabolic syndrome in long-term psychiatric illness: audit of patients receiving depot antipsychotic medication at a psychiatry clinic. European Journal of Psychiatry (fully accepted, in press)
    Davoren M, Breen EG, Kelly BD. Dr Ada English: patriot and psychiatrist in early twentieth-century Ireland. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine (fully accepted, in press)
    Nasim S, Jabbar F, Afridi A, Kelly BD. Serotonin toxicity. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine (fully accepted, in press)

  • Latif Z, Jabbar F, Kelly BD. Clozapine and blood dyscrasia. The Psychiatrist 2011;35: 27-9

  • Zyrianova Y, Kelly BD, Sheehan J, McCarthy C, Dinan TG. The psychological impact of arthritis: the effects of illness perception and coping. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2011; 180: 203-10
    Jabbar F, Casey P, Schelten SL, Kelly BD. What do you think of us? Evaluating patient knowledge of and satisfaction with a psychiatric outpatient service. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2011; 180:195-201
    Doherty AM, Kelly BD. Social and psychological correlates of happiness in seventeen European countries: analysis of data from the European Social Survey. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine 2010; 27: 130-4
    (Winner of the John Dunne Medal, 2011)

  • White D, Schelten SL, Kelly BD, Casey P. Written information on bipolar affective disorder: The patients' perspective. The Psychiatrist 2010; 34: 419-22

  • Duffy R, Kelly BD. Adherence in psychiatry. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine 2010; 27: i-vii

  • Pillay D, Kelly BD. Recreational drugs and health information provided in head shops. The Psychiatrist 2010; 34: 100-2

  • Jabbar F, Kelly BD, Casey P. National survey of psychiatrists’ responses to implementation of the Mental Health Act 2001 in Ireland. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2010; 179: 291-4

  • Ní Mhaoláin Á, Kelly BD. Ireland's Mental Health Act 2001: where are we now? Psychiatric Bulletin 2009; 33: 161-4

  • Pillay D, Kelly BD. Acute psychiatric units in general hospitals: where are we now? Irish Medical Journal 2009; 102: 137

  • Kelly BD, Davoren M, Ní Mhaoláin A, Breen EG, Casey P. Social capital and suicide in 11 European countries: an ecological analysis. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 2009; 44: 971-7

  • Ní Mhaoláin A, Kelly BD, Breen E, Casey P. Paracetamol availability in pharmacy and non-pharmacy outlets in Dublin. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2009; 178: 79-82

  • Davoren M, Doherty A, Breen E, Sheehan J, Kelly BD. The need for brain imaging in clinical psychiatry. Psychiatric Bulletin 2009; 33: 291-2

  • White D, Kelly BD, Casey P. Applications for fees waivers on medical and psychiatric grounds at an Irish third level college. Irish Journal of Medical Science 2009; 178: 503-6

  • Guruswamy S, Kelly BD. A change of vision? Mental health policy. Irish Medical Journal 2006; 99: 164-6


Psychotherapy

Many of the sites run case based discussion groups where trainees meet on a weekly basis with a facilitator to discuss issues arising in the doctor patient relationship. The Psychotherapy Service in St. Vincent’s Hospital Fairview offers supervision in CBT, Family Therapy and CAT to scheme trainees irrespective of where they are working on the scheme. An annual theoretical course on some aspect of psychotherapy is run by the psychotherapy service.


Higher Specialist Training

There are three trainees working in St. Vincent’s as part of the National Higher Training Scheme in Psychiatry. This is a national training scheme which is overseen by the College of Psychiatry of Ireland.


Post Membership Training

Prior to obtaining a place on the higher training scheme doctors have worked in St. Vincent’s as research fellows and completed PhD and MD degrees. There is also a post membership position which combines clinical duties with the role of medical student tutor.


General Practice Training

Specialist trainees in general practice rotate through St. Vincent’s. Participating training schemes are the RCSI/Dublin North East General Practice Training Programme and the newly established North Dublin City GP Training Programme (in association with UCD). Doctors considering careers in general practice have successfully obtained places on general practice training programmes having worked in St. Vincent’s.