Maya Ogonah and Anabelle Paulino created and have spent the last year running the Race and Psychiatry Journal Club – a group that analyses and discusses academic papers which have themes relating to both race and psychiatry. It has been a huge success and is something that the Department will continue to host this academic year.
Here are Anabelle and Maya’s 12 steps for setting up a special interest academic group in your department.
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1. Make it a team effort
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I don’t think I would have set this up without Anabelle, I think it’s been really nice to do that with a fellow student and we sit next to each other - so it made it much easier." Maya
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2. Get support and advice
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I think we’re quite lucky that they’re quite flexible in the Psychiatry Department, in terms of us having this new idea and them giving us tools to try and be able to make it happen. Just something even as simple as knowing which room to book when, how to get catering in and who gets charged for it is helpful. The Race and Equality Working Group helped us with some of those more logistical processes. Some of the Professional Services Staff, like our reception team, have been incredibly helpful with making this happen and trying to keep it running smoothly." Anabelle
If you don’t have a Race Equality working group, go to an equivalent because they’ll know more about the departmental structure." Maya
3. Have a vision for how sessions will runThink about the format and structure you’d like for your group:
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We were quite intentional in booking the conference room, because we wanted to have more of a roundtable discussion." Maya
I think it’s about having an idea of what you want the club to look like, but also being open to how it evolves. At the beginning, we weren’t sure if it was going to be more people presenting on any relevant work, or people presenting on their own work, and I think it evolved to be a mix." Anabelle
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4. Find out if you can get some budget to run the group
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We have quite a committed turn up and they wouldn’t care if there weren’t snacks but I think that’s nice in the first one or two to offer.
We’ve been lucky so far that everybody’s been happy to talk for free, but I think it’s nice having a budget, especially if you expect people to come and travel or they want to be paid for their time, I think it's very fair and it’s not offered enough in academia. Especially if you’re being inclusive of people that have childcare responsibilities, so having some system in place to fund that would be something to think about." Maya
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5. Sort the logistics
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Just thinking about how much administration goes into it, and how much planning in advance, is important. Being able to figure out the logistical structure is probably as important, if not more important, than figuring out who you actually want to come speak. Thinking about how it is actually going to work month to month, having it be sustainable." Anabelle
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6. Create a checklist
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7. Ensure you are reaching your target audience
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Example newsletter text: Race and Psychiatry Journal Club: Students and staff are invited to attend our next monthly Race and Psychiatry Journal Club on <DATE> at <TIME> in the <ROOM> (and virtually via Teams) where Anabelle and Maya will present <NAME OF PRESENTATION>. Cakes will be provided. |
Example email: Dear all, We hope you are doing well! Students and staff are invited to attend our next monthly Race and Psychiatry Journal Club on <DATE> at <TIME> in the <ROOM> (and virtually via Teams) where Anabelle and Maya will present <NAME OF PRESENTATION>. We have attached a copy of the paper we will be presenting. Cakes will be provided to in-person attendees! We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday! Best Wishes, Maya and Anabelle .
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8. Set up an online hub for your group
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We always sent an email out a week before the meeting was due to take place, and made sure it also went on the department’s weekly digest of events.
It is a good idea to map out specific tasks that need to be completed and how far in advance they need to be done.” Anabelle
9. Establish a core group of people who you know will regularly turn up
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Having a core group of people that turned up, having consistency is helpful rather than having a lot of people coming for the first time and then not afterwards." Anabelle
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10. Think about how to manage difficult conversations and emotive subjects
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We acknowledge the potential emotional dynamics that may arise when talking about race and ethnicity, and allow space for people to express themselves but try to guide the conversation back to constructive dialogue. We also try to ensure diverse voices are heard, and that people feel free to bring lived experiences into the conversation. However, at the end of the day, the journal club was founded to discuss literature and research on race and psychiatry, therefore we try to keep it academic, not personal.” Maya.
11. Embed structures and processes
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Having a manual or how-to-guide has been helpful in ensuring all tasks are done, and can be very helpful when delegating task across a team of people. We understand it’s quite a bit of work. Hopefully, for the next people, it will be less work because we’ve scoped out how to do it and we have a checklist of things to do each month that can be passed on." Maya
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12. Get feedback
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We had made a feedback form, as people might be shy about sharing ideas in person, but we also just asked people. Most people preferred giving us informal feedback, but it can depend on the club." Anabelle
Getting feedback from people who are turning up is very helpful. Everyone was really open with us and willing to help." Maya
- Read a Q&A with Maya and Anabelle about introducing the Race and Psychiatry Journal Club to the Department of Psychiatry
- More information about the Race and Psychiatry Journal Club