Developing a Post- Graduate Curriculum In Forensic Psychiatry In Zimbabawe

Abstract

In the practice of forensic psychiatry in Zimbabwe, there have been problems in bringing psychiatric offenders to justice due to delays in assessment. This has been caused by a shortage of psychiatrists with the relevant skills. Practitioners need to be equipped with the required competencies to deal with both the civil and criminal domains of forensic psychiatry. They also need neuropsychological tools for the evaluation of offenders and victims, and knowledge of the appropriate tests to be used in each case. To date, the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Zimbabwe has had no formal curriculum in forensic psychiatry. To meet these needs, a forensic psychiatry curriculum was developed. The goals for the curriculum were for the students to: 1) acquire knowledge in the assessment and management of psychiatric conditions and their relation to criminal and civil legal issues; 2) attain attitudes that foster a focus on assessment of the patients’ mental health, not their innocence or guilt; 3) write court reports that facilitate the justice process. In addition to improving the current shortage of qualified physicians in forensic psychiatry, this curriculum aims to increase awareness among psychiatry students of forensic psychiatry as a career path.