There was an interesting article about approaches taken to leadership roles in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper. The article was entitled “Unlocking Power”. On reading the article my mind returned to a similar article in the BMJ entitled “Soft Power” and of correspondence that I have had with the President of the Royal Society of Medicine.
I have been a longstanding advocate for ethics and realistic psychiatry and have openly shared my difficulties with dependence on an antidepressant and serious withdrawal effects, including akathisia and suicidality.
I had asked him if, in his previous role as President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, he had any role in the approach that the College had taken to me: that being one of initial marginalisation and then stonewalling and gas-lighting. He declined to answer my question and ended communication by stating “I am losing the will to live on this”. We agreed not to communicate any more.
In March of this year the Royal Society of Medicine hosted a conference on whistleblowing. This would suggest that there is an appreciation of the important contribution to healthcare of listening to all experiences:
The Royal Society Of Medicine advertised this conference as follows:
