Our students, our future
In this new section of Checkup we talk to students training at our hospitals.
The number of Auckland University medical
students on site has increased significantly
from 10 in 2012 to 68 this year. The DHB is
now regarded as a Clinical Campus for the
university in recognition of our teaching and
research facilities. We also have a steady
stream of Rural Health Interprofessional
(RHIP) students from across health
disciplines as well as nursing students from
local education institutions on site.
Sixth year medical student Ruth Mason-Battley is considering
a career in psychiatry. She spoke to Checkup about her
experience in this area to date and her recent eight week
elective in the Mental Health and Addiction Service.
My first run in psychiatry as a fifth year medical student was at
Auckland Hospital. I recall patients talking about their paranoid
thoughts, things the voices were telling them and their beliefs that
they were possessed. At first I felt completely out of my depth. I
saw a side of mental illness that I’d only really caught glimpses
of up until that point. I tip-toped around questions of suicide,
scared that I’d somehow say the wrong thing. Delving into the
unique specialty of psychiatry almost felt like learning the foreign
language of medicine all over again.
During this time I observed how mental health clinicians talked
so expertly with patients, and their families. They were a friendly
tight-knit team and welcomed me as a new student. I watched
‘wide-eyed’ as consultants talked with patients about their suicidal
thoughts, as though it was just another every-day conversation
topic. I came to the realisation that, for them it was. Gradually
over the six week run, my own conversations with patients about
mental health became easier as my skills improved, but I realised
that there was a lot more I could learn from this specialty.
The opportunity arose to complete an eight week elective with the
Mental Health and Addiction Service at Tauranga Hospital, and
I leapt at the chance. The teams were exceptionally welcoming
and inclusive, and supported me to see a wide range of people
and their experiences with mental illness. One of the things that
struck me was just how large the specialty is – not only in terms of
staff, but also with regards to the breadth of conditions covered by
the mental health teams. I had seen inpatient and hospital-based
psychiatry, but through my elective at Tauranga Hospital, I was
able to spend time with teams working in the broader areas of
mental health including the Crisis team, Consult Liaison, Mental
Health Service for Older People, Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Service, and Addictions - no two days were the same!
I’ve learned so much through my time with the Mental Health
Service. Not only about the vast spectrum of conditions that
the specialty cares for, but I’m now more in-tune with the signs
of mental illness and the things in life that may tip the balance
away from mental health and wellbeing. It’s become something
that I’m so much more comfortable talking about, both in
general conversation, and with people experiencing challenges
themselves. I know more about the support services available, and
ways to help people experiencing mental distress. I think these are
life-skills that will serve me well.
Somewhere along the way over the last couple of years, my
perception of mental health shifted. Maybe it was the increasing
awareness of the prevalence of mental health challenges, such
as depression and anxiety, within my own cohort of medical
professionals. Maybe it was the culmination of life experience
– friends experiencing depression, family members opening
up about their challenges, a friend’s brother diagnosed with
psychosis. However, I think I can thank my elective with the Mental
Health Service for a large portion of my increased understanding.
Talking with such a variety of people from so many different
backgrounds, has helped me to view mental illness as a spectrum
– not something to be viewed in a black-and-white manner.
I’m grateful to the registrars and psychiatrists who shared their
experience about training in the field. A big thank you to the
Tauranga Mental Health and Addiction Service for the opportunity
to complete my elective here, and particularly to my supervisor,
Consultant Psychiatrist Dr Bronwyn Copeland. Psychiatry is
certainly an area of medicine that I am excited to learn more
about, and would encourage my colleagues to experience as well.
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