Kolabo 2019: Day Four Blog
Anxiety Disorders Lecture
Dr. Jacqueline Bobyn distinguishes the difference between anxiety, which is a normal experience that we all share, and when anxiety becomes a disorder impacting an individual’s ability to function in their day to day life, to the MD3 students. During this lecture, she discussed generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and obsessive compulsive disorder.
Safety Lecture
Dr. Megan Howlett presents topics related to safety to MD3 students, including how to manage patients who feel suicidal or become agitated or aggressive. Suicide rates in Tanzania are between 5-15 per 100,000 since the year 2000. The topic of suicide is still highly stigmatized and in some parts of Africa remains illegal. Additionally, she emphasized that mentally ill patients are more likely to be harmed than to harm others, but that certain safety precautions are necessary.
“Many of the words we hear used in Swahili to describe someone with psychosis are very stigmatizing and do not describe the underlying illness.”
The first small group was a success!
The fifth year medical students, who were trained earlier this week to lead MD3 students through small group teaching sessions, successfully implemented their first session today on psychosis. The student leaders were engaging and thoughtful in their responses, often dispelling themes of stigma in their own cultural context. The University of Calgary team is incredibly excited to continue to see the progress of these leaders in upcoming small group formats.