Reading between the lines: exploring the unwritten rules of letters of recommendation in the Canadian resident selection process.

Background: Efforts to better understand and improve letters of recommendation (LORs) in the resident selection process have identified unwritten rules and hidden practices that may limit their effectiveness. The objective of our study is to explore these unwritten rules and hidden practices more fully in one Canadian academic medical community.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured, discourse-based interviews with 18 faculty members from the departments of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba, Canada.

International Medical Graduates in Psychiatry: Cultural Issues in Training and Continuing Professional Development.

A position paper developed by the Canadian Psychiatric Association's Education Committee and approved by the CPA's Board of Directors on August 15, 2016.

I think I'm Going to be Sick: An Eight-Year-Old Boy with Emetophobia and Secondary Food Restriction.

We present a case of an eight-year-old boy with a specific phobia of vomiting who developed subsequent food restriction and weight loss. Our case report includes a review of treatment modalities for specific phobias including cognitive behavioural and exposure therapy in young children and the importance of parental involvement in the treatment process. After an initial assessment and diagnosis of this boy with emetophobia, treatment took place over ten subsequent visits, one hour each in duration.

Canadian Rural/Remote Primary Care Physicians Perspectives on Child/Adolescent Mental Health Care Service Delivery.

Introduction: Primary Care Physicians (PCP) play a key role in the recognition and management of child/adolescent mental health struggles. In rural and under-serviced areas of Canada, there is a gap between child/adolescent mental health needs and service provision.

Methods: From a Canadian national needs assessment survey, PCPs' narrative comments were examined using quantitative and qualitative approaches.

The University of Manitoba Psychiatry Toolkit: Development and Evaluation.

Objective: The authors developed and measured the subsequent utilization of a web-based point-of-care information tool and meta-search filter, the University of Manitoba Psychiatry Toolkit, as well as conduct an evaluation of its impact on physicians' information seeking.

Methods: Evaluation entailed analysis of toolkit web page utilization data from user visits to the web-based toolkit, as well as an online survey distributed to psychiatrists and resident trainees to assess information gathering behaviors and attitudes regarding various sources of medical information.

Results: Electronic resources and colleagues were the preferred sources for gathering health information, while inadequate time and search skills were ranked as important barriers.

Psychiatrists' and Psychiatry Residents' Attitudes Toward Transgender People.

Objective: Gender minority groups, such as transgender individuals, frequently encounter stigma, discrimination, and negative mental health outcomes, which can result in contact with mental health professionals. Recent studies suggest that negative attitudes toward transgender individuals are prevalent and measurable within the general population. The Genderism and Transphobia scale (GTS) measures anti-transgender feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.

Determinants of first practice location: among Manitoba medical graduates.

Objective: To help understand physician movement out of Manitoba by determining the factors that influence Manitoba medical graduates' choices about practice locations.

Design: Cross-sectional, within-stage, mixed-model survey.

Setting: Manitoba.

Referral Patterns and Training Needs in Psychiatry among Primary Care Physicians in Canadian Rural/Remote Areas.

Objectives: This study examined the referral patterns of rural/remote primary care physicians (PCPs) as well as their needs and interests for further training in child/adolescent mental health.

Methods: Surveys were mailed to Canadian rural/remote PCPs requesting participants' demographic information, training and qualifications, referral patterns, and identification of needs and interests for continuing medical education (CME).

Results: PCPs were most likely to refer to mental health programs, and excessive wait times are the most common deterrent.

Childhood adversity and personality disorders: results from a nationally representative population-based study.

Background: Although, a large population-based literature exists on the relationship between childhood adversity and Axis I mental disorders, research on the link between childhood adversity and Axis II personality disorders (PDs) relies mainly on clinical samples. The purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between a range of childhood adversities and PDs in a nationally representative sample while adjusting for Axis I mental disorders.

Methods: Data were from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; n=34,653; data collection 2004-2005); a nationally representative sample of the United States population aged 20 years and older.

Mental health sequelae of bullying: a review and case report.

This paper is a review of the effects of bullying on children and adolescents. We begin with a case report of a young male who presented at a children's hospital emergency room after being subjected to months of bullying. We then proceed to a review of relevant literature, and focus on a definition of bullying, the incidence of this problem, and the characteristics of bullies, victims and those who both bully and are bullied.

Childhood adversity and perceived need for mental health care: findings from a Canadian community sample.

Previous community surveys have demonstrated that individuals with self-perceived need for mental health treatment in combination with meeting DSM-III-R criteria display the greatest levels of impairment in the community and have a higher likelihood of reporting parental psychopathology. The current investigation aims to replicate and extend these findings by examining the association between a wide range of childhood adversities with self-perceived need for mental health treatment and DSM-III-R diagnosis in a Canadian community sample (N = 8116). All respondents were questioned about their childhood experiences (physical and sexual abuse, emotional neglect, parental discord/separation, parental death, and parental psychopathology).

Comparative study of trauma-related phenomena in subjects with pseudoseizures and subjects with epilepsy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine potential differences in measures of trauma-related phenomena between subjects with pseudoseizures and subjects with intractable epilepsy.

Method: Thirty-one adult subjects with pseudoseizures and 32 subjects with intractable epilepsy (confirmed by video-EEG) were recruited from the epilepsy unit of a tertiary care hospital. Each participant completed the Impact of Event Scale, the Davidson Trauma Scale, the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the Dissociative Experience Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, as well as demographic, seizure history, and family functioning measures.