The Department of Psychiatry at the Université de Montréal must correct its shortcomings by offering more adequate supervision to its students and safer work environments for both its residents and its professors, learned The Press. It is the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – the body responsible for certifying medical training programs in the country – which is calling for these changes by the spring of 2024.
In an interview, the Dr François L’Espérance, director of the psychiatry department, explains that he does not fear a program closure, but that improvements must be made. Some are more complicated than others to implement because they concern, he observes, a large number of actors and establishments, namely all the hospitals where students do their residency.
Hospitals are overcrowded, especially emergency rooms, “and more and more people are arriving in crisis or [avec les facultés affaiblies] “recalls the Dr Hope.
Security demands that are expressed by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada may relate to physical improvements, such as “two-door examination rooms or geolocated wearable panic buttons”, says the Dr Hope.
To arrive at corrective measures in this matter, “we are in discussion with the hospitals”, explains the Dr Hope.
He noted that during its accreditation visits, the Royal College meets with program leaders, residents and faculty. In his opinion, the attack suffered by a psychiatrist in 2019 in a hospital marked the spirits and certainly colored both the concerns of the people met and the increased security requirements.
Student supervision
In addition to these security issues, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has also identified weaknesses in the supervision of students by the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Montreal.
In this regard, the D.r L’Espérance recalls that the professors – and the heads of the department – are themselves psychiatrists who work with patients and have a busy schedule.
In the wake of the Royal College report, professors were called upon to “free up time” to make themselves more available and to “respond more quickly to student requests”.
The Dr L’Espérance attributes such shortcomings to the fact that the psychiatry department has grown rapidly over the past five years. “We went from about 60 residents to 90,” he said.
Due to the observations contained in the report of the Royal College, the department of psychiatry of the University of Montreal will be the subject of a new visit in 2024, further indicates the Dr.r Hope.
A confidential report
It was not possible to read the Royal College report. Both the Royal College and the Department of Psychiatry explained that it was confidential. Even professors in the department did not have access to it, said the Dr Hope.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada did not comment. “We don’t provide information about a university’s or program’s accreditation,” said Melissa Nisbett, the agency’s communications specialist.
Generally, she continues, a full accreditation visit to each residency program is done at least once every eight years.
Across the country and in any given year, follow-up visits are requested before the end of the eight-year cycle in 15-20% of cases.
Melissa Nisbett, Communications Specialist, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
By email, the College of Physicians of Quebec – which is also part of the accreditation process – said it was aware of the visit to the University of Montreal and indicated that it will also evaluate the corrective measures taken next year. in place.
It should be noted that questions of safety in psychiatry have regularly been raised in recent years. This was, among other things, the case in Laval, where, in 2019, internships for medical students had been suspended due to concerns related to the safety of the practice.
Still in 2022, psychiatric health workers in Laval had made a public outing to denounce the glaring lack of employees and their fears for the safety of staff.