After a fantastic night in the Sugar Club in Dublin, Jenny Fitzgibbon and Ming Cai, medical students from NUI Galway took home the top prize at the Annual Spike Milligan Public Speaking Competition hosted by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland. They faced tough competition from Queen’s University Belfast who, despite a fantastic dramatic performance, were Runners-Up on the night.
This Public Speaking Competition was first held in 1999 as part of the Changing Minds Campaign of the College, addressing the stigma associated with mental health problems. Spike Milligan generously leant his name to the competition. It honours his great work as an advocate for those affected by mental ill health
Teams of two from UCC, UL, NUIG, TCD, UCD, RCSI & QUB spoke on the topic of:
‘People ask all the time how I’m doing, but the truth is, they don’t really want to know’ ― Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care
Students presented on this statement, as part of the College theme for 2015, ‘Caring for Carers’
This year the judging panel consisted of Old Age Psychiatrist Dr Mia McLoughlin, Trainee Psychiatrist Dr Rosie Plunkett and member of REFOCUS (Recovery Experience Forum of Carers and Users of Services) Christine McCabe.
CpsychI President Dr Ruth Loane said “Carers are key participants in the recovery process and these presentations dramatically illustrated the potential pain and loneliness of their role. The involvement of students from all Irish medical schools is heartening as regards the comprehension of the carers role from our future doctors.”
CpsychI Director of Communications and Public Education Dr John Hillery said “The Spike Milligan participants continue to provoke and amaze and this year’s competitors raised the bar again in content and presentation. The work and contribution of carers is still not sufficiently recognised but the students illustrated the issues in a way that demonstrated the practical steps we can all take to support people we know who are caring for loved ones”
The aim of the competition is to foster and promote communication skills among doctors in training; with a focus on mental health. It is also an opportunity for public outreach and engagement on matters concerning mental health issues. Teams are encouraged to demonstrate clear, reflective communication skills in a way that will inspire and inform a public audience. The award is named in recognition of the late Spike Milligan’s work in de-stigmatising mental illness through his books and appearances.
