ABSTRACT
On 16 April 2014, the Sewol ferry, carrying 476 people, sank in the ocean off the south coast of South Korea. Two hundred and ninety five are confirmed dead and 9 remain missing. The Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KNPA) set up a Disaster Mental Health Committee (KDMHC) for out-reach services and to provide general strategies for promoting mental health and resilience. Mem bers of KDMHC and Volunteering Psychiatrists of the KNPA had participated in disaster mental health services organized by Gyeonggi-Ansan disaster mental health support team. Their activities were composed of psychoeducation, supportive individual and familial counseling and referring service to professional institutes. This report has described the outline of the initial and acute mental health care responses by KDMHC and volunteers among KNPA members.
Subject(s)
Academies and Institutes , Counseling , Disasters , Korea , Mental Health Services , Mental Health , Psychiatry , VolunteersABSTRACT
The Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KNPA) should protect members' rights, and also plan long-term policy for public activity in a society. In these efforts, creation of mission, vision, and core values is of utmost importance. Second, effective communication among members is important for sharing and discussing the mission, vision, and core values of the KNPA. Third, public relations play a key role in advertising the policy and providing information. Based on the above major issues and results of representatives questionnaire, the authors suggest that careful planning of long-term policy and roles of the KNPA is needed.
Subject(s)
Humans , Growth and Development , Health Policy , Human Rights , Mental Health , Religious Missions , Public Relations , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Futurology is an interdisciplinary field, studying yesterday's and today's changes, and aggregating and analyzing both lay and professional strategies and opinions with respect to tomorrow. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to provide the future direction and strategy for the advancement of Korean psychiatry based on the author's subjective opinion as well as the objective consideration of future changes in the environmental factors affecting psychiatry. First, we attempted to analyze the pros and cons of our status, according to the SWOT analysis. There are several positive factors in the outer environment, such as the increase of personal income, healthy aging people, interest in mental health, and development of a national mental health plan. Meanwhile, the negative factors affecting our future originated from the excessive control by national health insurance as well as our short capacity for social or general mental health needs. Second, we estimated the needs from future changes that might affect modern psychiatry. The future changes force us to prepare ourselves to be more competent in fulfillment of customer oriented positive mental health needs. Further, greater competency is needed in application of neurobehavioral knowledge to the clinical field. In addition, development of dedicated leadership and partnership for accomplishment of social and community based projects is also needed. In conclusion, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, for organizational integration of the profession, must develop a strategic plan for achievement of the ideal goal. In the first step, from 2014 to 2019, we need to develop the vision, mission, strategy and framework of our organization. And, the mission should be carried out by several task forces. Consecutively, achievements of the task force should be applied to the organizational performance. In the second step, from 2020 to 2029, full time employment of a psychiatrist for the function of executive secretary should be established. In the third step, from 2029, we need to formally participate in the national project and community program by establishment of a full time organization for the major strategic area. The suggestions could be realized by the communication and commitment of the psychiatric organization.
Subject(s)
Humans , Advisory Committees , Aging , Employment , Forecasting , Leadership , Mental Health , Religious Missions , National Health Programs , PsychiatryABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The authors categorized and analyzed the documentation of cases referred to the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association between 2004 and 2008 to build a database for improving future medical investigations. METHODS: The cases in the documents were categorized according to key words and were statistically analyzed. The categories of keywords used were as follows : type of psychiatric disorder, inquiry about the disorder, death (including suicide), type of accident, referring institution, and inquiry about the relationship between the disorder and the case. RESULTS: Firstly, mood and psychotic disorders were the most common types of psychiatric disorder. Secondly, the most common cases were industrial accidents and medicine-related cases. Thirdly, etiology were most commonly asked inquiry about the psychiatric disorder, and in the core issues extracted from the documents, a causal relationship and a medical malpractice were most common. Finally, the most common referring institution was the Court. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the psychiatrist, who is both a clinician and an investigator, should try to maintain reliability and objectivity in conducting medical investigations. In addition, to help medical investigations, there should be greater professional consensus on the evaluation of mental and behavioural disability.
Subject(s)
Humans , Accidents, Occupational , Consensus , Malpractice , Psychiatry , Psychotic Disorders , Research PersonnelABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: The in-training examination (Performance Examination, PE) for psychiatric residents in Korea was launched 5 years ago by the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KNPA). This article analyzes 5-year accumulated data on the PE, and tries to make some suggestions for further development of the PE. METHODS: The 5-year data, previously utilized for the generation of formal annual reports were reanalyzed, with an emphasis on longitudinal trends. RESULTS: The analyses indicated the following; 1) Higher-year residents earned definitely higher scores than their lower-year colleagues on the PE. This trend was especially prominent in the area of psychopharmacology-biological psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and the emergency-organic psychiatry. There was no year-related performance difference in the area of psychoses. 2) In the area of anxiety-somatization disorder, psychophysiological disorder, and geriatric psychiatry, the residents in the university-affiliated hospitals outperformed those in the specialized psychiatric hospitals. 3) Through analyzing multiple-times examinees, it was found that their first-and second-time performances were moderately correlated, and that their ranks tended to improve, demonstrating a continuously improving performance according to the training year. CONCLUSION: These result suggested that the KNPA PE is a feasible measure for the estimation of an individual resident's performance as well as the adequacy of the environment provided by the training institutes.
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Child , Humans , Academies and Institutes , Adolescent Psychiatry , Child Psychiatry , Geriatric Psychiatry , Hospitals, Psychiatric , Korea , Psychophysiologic Disorders , Psychotic DisordersABSTRACT
In the face of rapid changes of society and medical environment, we now come to a crisis in which the identity of psychiatry is threatened. The regulations of a society are rules made in order to govern the way its activities are done or to control the way its members behave. So, the amendment of the regulations of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KNPA) are needed to cope with current difficulties efficiently. The planning committee drew up a revised version of regulations based on the intent of KNPA, i.e., developing neuropsychiatry, enhancing the mental health of people, promoting friendship among the members and extending the rights of members. As the need of the hour, the establishment of an institute to carry out the development of mental health polices on a long-term basis, the reestablishment of the relations with connected organizations and academic societies, and the reconstitution of the KNPA organization to heighten the efficiency of operations were chosen. In this article, the details of revised regulations were proposed and discussed.
Subject(s)
Humans , Friends , Human Rights , Mental Health , Neuropsychiatry , Social Control, FormalABSTRACT
Recently Our medical systems have been changed to a great extent and mental health systems have evolved as well ; with increased mental disorders, suicide, family violence, and increasing an elderly population. Currently, the general population has become more aware of an importance of mental health, and increasing mental disorders in turn led to massive social burdens. This requires an emergence of new national mental health policy. By establishing the national mental health policy, we, Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, are able to build a reputation that we deserve as a professional group, and provide the mental health promotion of the general population and improve the quality of life of those that are mentally ill.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Domestic Violence , Mental Disorders , Mental Health , Mentally Ill Persons , Quality of Life , SuicideABSTRACT
The Korean Neuropsychiatric Association (KNPA) has played pivotal role in establishing academic authority and identity as the official organization of psychiatrists in Korea since 1945. Although current development of KNPA has been distinguished, it is time to answer all the demands of members who are arguing that the activities of KNPA have to more focus on the rights of members and interests related to social and economical status as well as academic interests. Thus, the authors tried to suggest a plan to make stable production of mental health related policy by constitutional improvement with focusing on continuity and specialty by benchmarking domestic and foreign professional organization, brainstorming in members of special task force team and qualitative research for specialists in the KNPA. These results showed that it would be needed to change the system of the KNPA, but the improving process should be gradually followed based on extensive agreement to the initiatives and priorities of changes. Therefore, we suggest the step-by-step realistic plan composed of strengthening the role of the secretariat and board members of KNPA (improving continuity) and establishing vigorous planning group (improving specialty) as preplatform status of the establishment of Research Institute for Mental Health, which would be essential for the future but highly cost burden.
Subject(s)
Academies and Institutes , Advisory Committees , Benchmarking , Human Rights , Korea , Mental Health , Psychiatry , Qualitative Research , Societies , SpecializationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: How dose the Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association reconcile both the essential companion in clinical practice and the leading academic journal of general psychiatry? METHODS: I have been involving 2 projects of the British Journal of Psychiatry (BJP), the leading international journal of general psychiatry. The first is a comparison between papers that are seen by referees who are willing for their names to be closed to the authors of previous papers and those who do not wish their names to be closed. The second involves the rejection rates and long-term outcome of papers submitted from low and middle income countries (LAMI). RESULTS: Many referees of BJP were supportive of disclosure but not so much when it comes to the bad news. LAMI are contributing well to the psychiatric literature, though conclusions from the results can only be tentative in view of the relative small numbers. CONCLUSION: The BJP showed me that good journalism in an academic publication is not oxymoron. The criterion of the originality and the scientific reliability should remain uncompromised at any time and these should remain the clearest guides. I also would like our journal to be more excellence in clinical communication.
Subject(s)
Humans , Disclosure , Friends , Journalism , PublicationsABSTRACT
Four Years Reports of "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" during 2001 to 2005 were evaluated by 18 Editorial Board of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association. We investigated the articles to specific fields and rejection rate etc. by different section chiefs. Although several problems concerning review time duration and rejection guideline issues indicated but generally all reviewer processes proved relatively clear and concise criteria. Through these objective and systematic evaluation processes, "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" will develop a good journal.
Subject(s)
Evaluation Studies as TopicABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: How dose the Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association reconcile both the essential companion in clinical practice and the leading academic journal of general psychiatry? METHODS: I have been involving 2 projects of the British Journal of Psychiatry (BJP), the leading international journal of general psychiatry. The first is a comparison between papers that are seen by referees who are willing for their names to be closed to the authors of previous papers and those who do not wish their names to be closed. The second involves the rejection rates and long-term outcome of papers submitted from low and middle income countries (LAMI). RESULTS: Many referees of BJP were supportive of disclosure but not so much when it comes to the bad news. LAMI are contributing well to the psychiatric literature, though conclusions from the results can only be tentative in view of the relative small numbers. CONCLUSION: The BJP showed me that good journalism in an academic publication is not oxymoron. The criterion of the originality and the scientific reliability should remain uncompromised at any time and these should remain the clearest guides. I also would like our journal to be more excellence in clinical communication.
Subject(s)
Humans , Disclosure , Friends , Journalism , PublicationsABSTRACT
Four Years Reports of "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" during 2001 to 2005 were evaluated by 18 Editorial Board of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association. We investigated the articles to specific fields and rejection rate etc. by different section chiefs. Although several problems concerning review time duration and rejection guideline issues indicated but generally all reviewer processes proved relatively clear and concise criteria. Through these objective and systematic evaluation processes, "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" will develop a good journal.
Subject(s)
Evaluation Studies as TopicABSTRACT
To develop into a good jounal, it takes constant and consistent time and the efforts. "Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association" has been tried and revised through workshop and research development subcommittec. As "an editor-in chief", I reviewed about the good journal evaluation principles especially four main aspects of the ISI journal selection process for Science Citation Index (SCI) and Index Medicus. These involve examination of basic journal publishing standards, editorial content, international diversity, and citation analysis. Aslo, I reviewed the important and problems of redundant publication and on-line publication. Through these current important issues, I suggests a Master plan for the Journal of Korean Neuropsychiatric Association.