Clinical reasoning sessions: back to the patient.

Background: Problem-based learning (PBL) was developed as a facilitated small group learning process based around a clinical problem. Originally designed for pre-clinical years of medical education, its application across all years poses a number of difficulties, including the risk of reducing patient contact, providing a learning process that is skewed towards an understanding of pathophysiological processes, which may not be well understood in all areas of medicine, and failing to provide exposure to clinically relevant reasoning skills.

Context: Curriculum review identified dissatisfaction with PBLs in the clinical years of the Sydney Medical School's Graduate Medical Program, from both staff and students.

An outline of the planned work of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists' Board of Education.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to inform College Fellows, trainees and other stakeholders about the structure, principles and functioning of the new Board of Education.

Conclusion: The educational activities of the College are likely to evolve and to be developed over the next 5 years by a process taking account of the views of key stakeholders. In the short term, there will be no changes to training or examination processes which would disadvantage trainees.

To screen or not to screen--that is the question in perinatal depression.

Significant perinatal distress and depression affects 14% of women, producing short and long term consequences for the family. This suggests that measures for early detection are important, and non-identification of these women may exacerbate difficulties. Screening provides an opportunity to access large numbers of women and facilitate pathways to best-practice care.