Faculty of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry celebrates 65 years A look back at the department’s humble beginnings By Kate Rogers
Last year marked the 65th anniversary of the Department of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University. On June 20, 2014, faculty, fellows, residents, staff, and special guests joined together to celebrate 65 years of excellence in education and research. Invited speakers Drs. Jock Murray (MD’63) and Jane Murphy engaged the audience with talks about R.O. Jones (MD’37) and the Stirling County Study, respectively, and a panel of past and present department heads spoke candidly about their time at the reins. The Department of Psychiatry was founded in the spring of 1949 under the very ambitious Dr. R.O. Jones. The first three residents in the department began their studies in July 1949 with the objective to receive training in psychiatry to work in government services in the area, pass the Royal College Certification Exam in psychiatry, and receive a Dalhousie University diploma in psychiatry. To accomplish this task, a basic two-year course covering general psychiatry, for which candidates were registered with the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Dalhousie and accepted as residents at the various hospitals, was developed. Residents would spend several months rotating through the different psychiatric areas: general hospital outpatient psychiatry, inpatient medicine/
neurology, child psychiatry, and psychotic inpatient psychiatry. In addition to the clinical portion of training, residents had regular seminars, journal clubs, supervised reading, and basic science lectures in neuroanatomy/neurophysiology. After the two-year course, residents were required to complete two additional years in a Dalhousie-approved setting in order to receive a diploma in psychiatry, after which they could write the Royal College Speciality Exams. Dr. Jones was responsible for most of the training during the first year, feeling his way through different types of instruction. He reported after the first academic year that it was going well, stating: “I feel it’s going ahead successfully… perhaps, more importantly, I think the residents feel the same.” In the early 1950s, the department enhanced its continuing medical education for general physicians, broadening their psychiatric knowledge and skills. More psychiatrists joined the faculty and resident numbers continued to grow, with a total of 15 residents in 1954. By 1959, 45 physicians had entered residency training in the Department of Psychiatry, and only five did not complete their training. During this time, more emphasis was put on research, and residents were encouraged to complete
Drs. Jane Murphy, Jock Murray, and a panel of past and present department heads spoke of the history and their memories of the department.
Dr. R.O. Jones (MD’37) founded the department in 1949. a research project in their final years of training. The program went through changes and restructuring in the early 1960s as more instructors joined the expanding department. From Dr. Jones to current head Dr. Nicholas Delva, the Department of Psychiatry has benefited from competent leadership and strong directors. There have been struggles (developing a solid reputation as an excellent clinical and teaching program, attracting faculty and learners, flourishing when health care resources are diminishing and expectations are increasing) but the department has thrived and is one of the premiere psychiatry training programs in the country. Researchers continue to make discoveries in a wide variety of topics related to mental health, and the clinicians are committed to identifying and promoting the highest standards of clinical practice. With advances in technology and medicine, there is no telling what the department will look like in another 65 years.
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