World Psychiatric Association (WPA) and WPA Affiliated Society, The SAARC Psychiatry Federation (SPF) announce a fellowship (Travel Award) for psychiatric trainees to attend the WPA Regional Congress in Kolkata, India.
The WPA and SPF have announced a fellowship (Travel Award) for psychiatric trainees to attend the WPA Regional Congress in Kolkata, India later this year (14th‑16th April 2023).
This prestigious award is open to all psychiatric trainees pursuing any psychiatric degree/diploma/fellowship or similar accredited course from a recognised teaching institution in any of the SAARC countries. The trainees are invited to submit a short story (in English) not exceeding 2000 words on the theme “Why psychiatric training is essential for the making of a good doctor”.
The guidelines for the story are:
It must be fictionalised (NOT an essay or review article).
Either drawn from the student’s own life/patient/training experience or a purely fictional/futuristic/science-fictional topic.
The title of the story can be different from the theme (create your own title), but the message of the submission must reflect the contest’s theme.
References are not required, but if used as part of the story, must be included as per Uniform Requirements (“Vancouver”) style.
The lucky winner will win a prize of 2,500 Indian Rupee (INR), that will cover the travel costs to attend the WPA Regional Congress in Kolkata (to be reimbursed following the Congress). In addition, the Congress registration fee will be waived, free accommodation will be provided and the winning entry will be published in the SPF Journal.
With the Theme “BUILDING AWARENESS, BRIDGING TREATMENT GAPS” this congress will build the experiences of WPA’s 2020-2023 Action Plan and will include recent updates in different disciplines related to mental health. The Congress will highlight the importance of bringing together the psychiatrists and other mental health professionals on board to discuss topics of mutual interest. This will also provide a forum for the voices of patients to be heard.
Delegates and the winning trainee will certainly profit from up-to-date research data, the best lectures from experts in all fields of mental health, high-quality scientific content, interaction between mental health and other health and social care professionals, patients and carers, and relevant peer-to-peer networking.
Kolkata, nicknamed the “City of Joy”, is considered the cultural capital of India and is located on the beautiful east bank of the Hooghly River. In addition to attending a high-quality scientific meeting, the winner will have the chance to enjoy this stunning part of the world.
More information on the fellowship, the requirements and deadlines can be found here.
Deadline and Schedule: All submissions must be submitted to Professor Debasish Basu (db_sm2002@yahoo.com with ‘WPA-RC & SPF Psychiatric Trainee Short Story Contest’ in the subject heading), by midnight (Indian Standard Time) on the 15th of February 2023.
We look forward to receiving some interesting and enriching submissions for this award and welcoming the winner in Kolkata.
Author: Afzal Javed, Pratima Murthy & Debasish Basu