The COVID-19 outbreak has left its mark on the work of mental health care staff. Many professionals had to radically change their working conditions or were delegated to work in different facilities, in many cases taking on different responsibilities with little time for training. Many psychiatrists overnight had to partially or fully start working within telemedicine. Due to the lockdown, psychiatric trainees in many countries were not able to complete their training as planned. The measures taken by the governments to limit the impact of the pandemic also affected the capacity to conduct research studies and directions of new research initiatives. Dr. Gondek will present the results of the EPA ECPC-EFPT Cross-sectional survey on the effects of the outbreak on work and wellbeing of Early Career Psychiatrists in Europe.

The traits of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and various other personality or mental disorders may overlap, causing diagnostic difficulties and pitfalls for psychiatrists early in their career. An online survey conducted among psychiatric trainees and young specialists in 2019 showed that only 63% of them think they are well prepared to diagnose BPD. Predispositions such as impulsivity or emotional instability, which commonly are present in BPD, may also be prevalent in such disorders as Antisocial Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, in people misusing psychoactive substances, or in neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD. These symptoms can lead to considerable difficulties in global functioning and performing adequate social roles unless appropriate treatment is provided. Therefore, a proper differential diagnosis is crucial in good psychiatric management of people with BPD features. Dr. Gondek will present what BPD symptom domains may be shared with other mental and personality disorders and how to navigate the diagnostic process to set the correct diagnosis in often unobvious clinical presentations of BPD and its look-alikes.

The European Union Free Movement Directive gives professionals the opportunity to work and live within the European Union, but does not give specific requirements regarding how the specialists in medicine have to be trained, with the exception of a required minimum of 4 years of education. Efforts have been undertaken to harmonize post-graduate training in psychiatry in Europe since the Treaty of Rome 1957, with the founding of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) and establishment of a charter outlining how psychiatrists should be trained. However, the different curricula for post-graduate training were only compared by surveys, never through a systematic review of the official national requirements. The published survey data still shows great differences between European countries and unlike other UEMS Boards, the Board of Psychiatry did not introduce a certification for specialists willing to practice in a foreign country within Europe. Such a European certification could help to keep a high qualification level for post-graduate training in psychiatry all over Europe. Moreover, it would make it easier for employers to assess the educational level of European psychiatrists applying for a job in their field.

According to the aim of the Treaty of Rome from 1957 which postulated the free movement of workers throughout the European Union, the European Board of Psychiatry in the UEMS (European Union of Medical Specialists) carried out a comprehensive survey of training in psychiatry, including all member countries in order to evaluate the present state of training in psychiatry in each. The survey should indicate whether the training requirements [UEMS Section Psychiatry. Charter on training of medical specialists in the EU: requirements for the speciality psychiatry. European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience 1997;247(Suppl.):S45–7; UEMS Section Psychiatry. Charter on training of medical specialists in the EU: requirements for the speciality psychiatry. <www.uemspsychiatry.org/board/reports/Chapter6-11.10.03.pdf>; 2003 [last revision]] have had an impact on the actual conditions of training in psychiatry in the member countries. We gathered 22 questionnaires from 31 national representatives involved and 424 questionnaires completed by the chief of training and the representative of trainees at the responding training centres from 22 countries. The results give an overview about the practice of training in psychiatry in many European countries. While there are great differences between the training centres in different countries, apparent progress towards developing high standards in training in psychiatry has been made.