Transcript Making things happen - The Association for the Improvement of

Making things happen
Course for Young Psychiatrists
Addis Ababa, 28th April 2006
David Goldberg
Five (sometimes difficult) steps:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Getting known
Getting research under way
Assessing your teaching & training
Expanding your
department/hospital
5) Getting resources
Getting better known
by those above you in the hierarchy




your local health authority
your university
the official responsible for mental
health in your country
the Minister of Health
Getting better known
ask to see them





introduce yourself
describe your service positively
look to the future
offer to help them
volunteer to do things, get involved
Don’t start by asking for things
Getting research under way
exploiting natural opportunities
your clinical service; what are its
problems; how can innovations be
introduced?; what are the opportunities?

your usual teaching: constant evaluation
followed by improvements

collaborating with others outside your
department

Getting research under way
use your medical students as
research assistants
 involve your colleagues
 do some field-work yourself
 encourage others to get involved

Getting research under way
assessing your training
your clinical service; what are its
problems; how can innovations be
introduced?; what are the opportunities?

your usual teaching: constant evaluation
followed by improvements

new opportunities for training others

Getting research under way
assessing your training
assess the training you offer your
students
 and training you offer others
 collaborate with other teachers –
eg nurse tutors

Expand your department
Enabling others
offer training opportunities to those in
other places

arrange training courses for other
specialities

accept other responsibilities

always attend committees that are
“spending committees”

offer to pay fares of people who might
join your department to visit you

Getting new resources
discover who might fund research in
your department: Ministry of Health,
medical and other charities, foreign
donors, drug companies, international
organisations

find when they meet, what their
requirements are, what their special
interests are, how to apply to them

be prepared to travel to meet officials
in their organisation

Be patient!
It takes time