Examinations loom large in the minds of trainees. Rightly, trainees see passing the MRCPsych as official confirmation that they have successfully concluded their period of general professional training and may now advance to higher training and, almost inevitably, to Consultant status. They may assume, and in this the College does nothing to dissuade them, that they have been tested in the skills needed to practise psychiatry. Enumeration of such facts as are to be enumerated and the observation of external behaviour stand high in the lexicon of success. Listening and understanding, tolerance and compassion are also-runs. The examination does not merely reflect the form of the training but dictates the order of priorities. What the exam values, the trainee values. What the exam ignores, the trainee, unless strongly motivated, will be tempted to ignore.

The 1959 Mental Health Act has provided the legal framework for psychiatric practice in the UK for the past two decades. The Mental Health (Amendment) Bill (DHSS, 1981) currently before Parliament proposes to update the Act by improving the safeguards for detained patients, clarifying the position of staff looking after them, and by the removal of uncertainties in the law. The Bill incorporates changes relating to the compulsory care of Mentally Disordered patients in the community whereby a person may be accepted into Guardianship on the grounds that he or she is suffering from a Mental Disorder. Once accepted into Guardianship, the person or body named as Guardian has the power to exercise control over the person as if he or they were the father of the patient, and the patient was under 14 years of age.

‘The Interface of Psychiatry and General Practice’ is the theme of the College's Southern Division Autumn Seminar to be held at The Priory Hospital on 21 October 1982. Topics will include: ‘Who cares for the man at the top?’; The dexamethasone suppression test’; ‘Alcoholism’; ‘Psychiatry and general practice: a new interface?’; ‘Gynaecology, the GP and the psychiatrist’; and ‘Which antidepressant for neurotic depression’. Information and application forms: Dr Desmond Kelly, The Priory Hospital, Priory Lane, London SW15 5JJ.

The Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Section has agreed that a view should be formulated about the management of suicidal attempts in young people under sixteen. This report of the Section's Working Party is being published with Council's approval. (Members of the Working Party: Dr M. Black (Convener), Dr J. Erulkar, Mr M. Kerfoot, Professor R. Meadow and Dr H. Baderman.) A Working Party of the Public Policy Committee, which includes representatives of other professions, is continuing discussion of this topic.

The Spring Quarterly Meeting was held at the Holiday Inn, Liverpool and the University of Liverpool on 20 and 21 April 1982 under the Presidency of Professor Kenneth Rawnsley.

The College ECT survey questionnaire in March 1980 asked ‘Are you doing research on any aspect of the use of ECT?’ From the 61 who replied ‘yes', it appears that there were 49 separate individuals or groups involved. By April 1982 I knew that 12 of these had published, or had had accepted, at least some of their work. A short questionnaire was sent to the other 37 to find out how their work was going on and to canvass opinion on the possible usefulness of the College setting up a Register of Research.

The Summer Quarterly Meeting of the Irish Division took place in St Brendan's Hospital, Dublin, on 2 July 1982.

This year the Southern Division held its Annual General Meeting on 17 June 1982 at Cane Hill Hospital as one of the events to mark the hospital's centenary.

The Dependence/Addiction Group is attempting to build up a list of national courses in the field of alcoholism and addiction. The Group is seeking information on both formalized long and short courses, and is also interested in courses which are still only provisionally planned. The final list will be published in the Bulletin at a later date. Would you please send details to Dr M. I. Akhter, Secretary, Dependence/Addiction Group, All Saints Hospital, Lodge Road, Birmingham B18 5SD.

Members of the College who are called upon to review books for our journal or, indeed, other journals, may be at a loss as to how to dispose of their copies. May I suggest to those so embarrassed that they offer them to the Library? In all probability we would make good use of them.