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Hospital to begin training its first ever psychiatrist in residence (2 photos)

Psychiatrists needed, as stats show dramatic increase in mental health issues

Sault Area Hospital psychiatrists will begin training the hospital’s first ever psychiatrist in residence (which means ‘intern’ for non-medical folks) beginning in July.

A residency position required Ministry of Health and Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) approval and financial support, said Dr. Manar Elbohy, SAH psychiatrist and NOSM academic coordinator.

Such residency positions, Elbohy told SooToday, “cost a huge amount of money.”

To put ‘huge’ in perspective, a psychiatrist in training’s residency period lasts for five years, one of the longest residencies in modern medical training.

That five years of residency comes after four years of undergraduate study in university, followed by four years in medical school, amounting to 13 years of postsecondary training in total.

The cost of training a psychiatrist in residence for five years, after he/she is paid for their training, after the hospital’s psychiatrists receive extra pay for providing instruction, and after hospital fees for training privileges and other costs are paid out, amounts to approximately $500,000.

“It’s very delicate training,” Elbohy said.

“We train for children, geriatrics, addictions, psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), medications (and more).”

SAH’s first ever psychiatrist in residence is a Sault native, Elbohy said.

“Every year, if we accept one resident, every year we’ll have a new psychiatrist for the community…it’s an asset if they’re from the north,” Elbohy said.

It is hoped those who study psychiatry in residence at SAH will stay and practice in Sault Ste. Marie, as current psychiatrists eventually retire.

There are currently 10 psychiatrists practicing at SAH.

Elbohy has practiced psychiatry at SAH for four years. 

The need for psychiatrists in Sault Ste. Marie (and right across the board), on an ongoing basis, certainly exists.

Elbohy said statistics from one study from 2010 show that in North America, neuropsychiatric disorders rank in first place in terms of numbers of patients on disability (mental and behavioural disorders at 13.6 per cent, neurological disorders at five per cent for a total of over 18 per cent), ahead of cardiovascular and circulatory diseases (16.8 per cent of medical patients) and diabetes (eight per cent of medical patients).

Admissions to SAH’s inpatient psychiatric unit increased by 19 per cent between 2011 and 2017, along with a 47 per cent increase in visits to SAH’s emergency department for psychiatric reasons in that same time period.

Admissions to the childrens psychiatric unit also increased by 110 per cent.

Elbohy suggested reasons for the dramatic increases include education regarding mental health.

“There is a disappearance of the stigma of psychiatric illness. Maybe people were ashamed to go to a psychiatrist before, and maybe because of the increase in substance abuse…there are many factors,” Elbohy said.

Elbohy commended the Algoma District School Board (ADSB) for having a mental health lead working in schools and referring children and youth to SAH for mental health treatment.

“For the last two years we don’t have a waiting list for children,” Elbohy said.

In addition, after working with NOSM’s main sites in Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Elbohy and other SAH psychiatrists, since 2016, also deliver professional training for psychiatry students in Sudbury, Thunder Bay, North Bay and Sault Ste. Marie hospitals online, on camera, from the SAH psychiatry office.

Setting up SAH as an online psychiatric training facility in 2016 and the securing of a residency program, Elbohy emphasized, was a team effort between herself, Dr. Emmalee Marshall, SAH medical director of mental health and addictions and Dr. Hesham Desouky, NOSM site director.

Elbohy and Desouky, a married couple and natives of Egypt, received an award from the African Caribbean Canadian Association of Northern Ontario (ACCANO) for their community health efforts during ACCANO’s community celebration in Sault Ste. Marie, held Feb. 24.


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Darren Taylor

About the Author: Darren Taylor

Darren Taylor is a news reporter and photographer in Sault Ste Marie. He regularly covers community events, political announcements and numerous board meetings. With a background in broadcast journalism, Darren has worked in the media since 1996.
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