News from CAMH: CrossCurrents Winter 2004/05

CrossCurrents

CAMH courses available through the Internet
CAMH has recently made some of its education courses available online. The courses are interactive and engaging, with cutting-edge content and facilitators who are experts in their field. CAMH's online courses are professional and rigorous, with readings and required participation in discussion forums. Information about these easy-to-navigate and user-friendly e-learning programs can be found at www.camh.net/education. The growing course schedule includes: Fundamentals of Addiction; Fundamentals of Mental Health; Introduction to Concurrent Disorders; Concurrent Disorders: A Pharmacological Challenge for Front-Line Workers; Core Knowledge and Skills for Withdrawal Management; and Admission, Discharge and Assessment Tools Training. In the new year, Core Knowledge and Skills for Withdrawal Management will be offered as a pilot course.

The Honourable Carolyn Bennett visits CAMH
On November 9, the Honourable Carolyn Bennett visited CAMH to announce health research funding on behalf of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Minister Bennett announced $74 million in funding for Ontario scientists and highlighted the four grants being received by CAMH researchers Paul Fletcher, Shitij Kapur, Jeff Meyer and Jerry Warsh.

New Psychiatric and Addiction Nursing Research Chair
Dr. Carles Muntaner has been appointed the first-ever Psychiatric and Addiction Nursing Research Chair at the University of Toronto and has been hired as a research scientist in CAMH's Culture, Community and Health Section. He joins the Faculty of Nursing as a full professor with tenure and will champion research in his field of expertise that spans the socio-mental determinants of health in settings that include nursing homes, home care and work organizations. Muntaner will work closely with CAMH's advanced practice nurses and the nursing administrative leadership and will help to champion the development of the nursing research agenda for CAMH. This Chair is the third University of Toronto-endowed chair to be filled in the Faculty of Nursing. It was made possible by the generous donation of $1 million from the CAMH Foundation and will be fully matched by the university.

12th Annual Rendezvous with Madness a success
CAMH's Workman Theatre Project hosted its 12th Annual Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival from November 11 to 25. The festival received very positive attention from the mainstream media. It was described by the National Post as a "smartly curated accessible film festival" and received four stars from NOW magazine. The Globe and Mail astutely commented that: "The themes (in the rendezvous film festival) are often profoundly affecting." With this type of response to the festival, we are looking forward to next year's line-up. Information on the festival is available at www.rendezvouswithmadness.com.

Christa Haanstra