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The purpose of this paper is to report research findings on the perspectives of overseas trained psychiatrists (OTPs) on the “The Overseas Trained Specialist Up-Skilling Programme” (OTSUP), initiated in Queensland, Australia to assist OTP's to prepare for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrist (RANZCP) Fellowship examination. Ascertaining and utilisation of OTP's views about the programme will enable improvements to be made to the programme and better implementation.

An exploratory qualitative design was utilised for the study in order to provide insights on the quality and effectiveness of the OTSUP.

Centred around two main themes. The first theme included participant's knowledge about the up-skilling programme with its subthemes of “finding out about the programme”; “perceived aims of the programme”; and “educational events supporting the programme”. The second theme revolved around participants’ perceived benefits of the up-skilling programme with its four subthemes such as, first, individualised support, second, the opportunity to improve practical and communication skills through OTSUP educational events, third, access to peer support and fourth, provision of specific information on the RANZCP examination process.

Limitations as this was a qualitative study, the findings can only be applicable to a similar context. Nevertheless, the findings do provide support for an educational initiative that assisted the OTS to better prepare for the RANZCP examination. To gain further insight into challenges faced by OTS with successfully passing the examination in less frequent attempts, programmes such as the OTSUP need to be improved and sustained.

The findings provide valuable insight into how OTPs view the up-skilling programme. Moreover, the findings pave the way forward in how the programme can be improved in the future to assist OTPs prepare for the RANZCP examination.

Using an institutionalist perspective, and through a case study analysis, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether subsidiaries of MNEs demonstrate a convergence across their HRM practices in a less developed host-country context.

This paper reports on an exploratory qualitative study involving five MNEs subsidiaries that operate in Ghana and originate from the UK, France, Germany, and India. The authors applied thematic and cross-case analysis techniques to explore similarities and differences in their HRM practices by drawing data from in-depth face-to-face interviews and document analyses.

Findings suggest that MNE subsidiaries demonstrate more convergence across their HRM practices as well as other HRM characteristics. Despite the similarities in their HRM practices, the evidence suggests that MNE subsidiaries’ HRM practices were similar to corporate headquarters HRM practices. It appears that the host-country has less influence in driving their convergence but rather the country-of-origin effect; competitive isomorphic pressure and global integration benefits were driving their convergence across their HRM practices.

This study makes a contribution to the convergence-divergence literature in the international HRM (IHRM) domain with specific focus on addressing an under-researched context of less developed host-countries. One of the puzzles in comparative and IHRM literature yet to be resolved is the convergence-divergence thesis of firms’ HRM practices.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the experiences of internationally recruited (IR) consultant psychiatrists focussing on the recruitment process and its adherence to the department of health (DH) guidance.

IR consultant psychiatrists (n=88) from different countries were mailed a 13‐item questionnaire assessing their experiences regarding various aspects of the recruitment process.

In total, 48 per cent IR psychiatrists responded; 97 per cent were from India. The recruitment process was generally satisfactory with perceived gaps in support from various stakeholders. Inconsistent experiences were reported regarding induction, mentorship, clinical responsibilities, and racial discrimination.

This is believed to be the first such questionnaire‐based study carried out on the IR consultant psychiatrists and discussing their experiences of the overall recruitment process.

There is growing awareness in New Zealand (NZ) of the impact that Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has on individuals and their families and the ability to engage in health services. Although it is a relatively rare condition, approximately 1 per cent of the population will have ASD, directly affecting approximately 40,000 individuals in NZ. The purpose of this paper is to provide some reflections and questions on what we can learn from a NZ perspective. This is based on an overview of the limited literature around ASD and offending and the author’s experience in the UK working in a medium secure unit.

Through a past site visit as part of the annual international conference on the Care and Treatment of Offenders with an Intellectual and/or Developmental Disability in the United Kingdom (UK), the author became aware of the medium secure forensic unit for male patients with ASD at the Roseberry Park Hospital (UK’s Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust). During the author’s advanced training in forensic psychiatry with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists the author was privileged to be able to apply and be accepted for a four-month sabbatical training position at this hospital.

Outlined is background information about ASD and review findings from the limited literature on ASD and offending. Also outlined is the author’s learning as a trainee working in medium secure unit for people with ASD who have offended, and finally how this experience may help in the development of services in NZ, given that at this stage such services are under-developed.

To be able to share the valuable experience and learning opportunity the author was able to have, as well as raise the awareness of ASD generally, and specifically the need for specialist services for the small number of people with ASD who come into contact with Justice Services.

Neuropsychiatric disorders account for a substantial proportion of disease burden and disability in Africa. Despite this, mental health systems are under-resourced in Africa, as in most parts of the world, creating a “treatment gap” and denying the African population the right to mental health achieved through access to mental health services. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The mental health systems of African countries were compared with figures for all low- and middle-income countries (LAMICS) using data from the World Health Organization Assessment Instrument for Mental Health Systems. Comparable global figures were also available for some indicators from the WHO's World Mental Health Atlas 2011.

Selected indicators of mental health systems are presented for 14 African countries and shows that they are lower as compared to figures for all other LAMICS and also global figures. The treatment gap for mental disorders is much higher in Africa than comparable global figures. For example, the treatment gap for mood disorders has been estimated from 95 to 100 per cent for some African countries.

There is an imbalance between need and service provision in the area of mental health across the world but particularly in Africa. Despite this, there are a greater number of outpatient than inpatient services in Africa which provides an opportunity for development of community-based services. There are also many encouraging examples of effective approaches to reducing the burden of neuropsychiatic disease in Africa.

Historical studies of the expert management of childhood in Australia often make passing reference to the establishment of child guidance clinics. Yet beyond acknowledgement of their founding during the interwar years, there has been little explication of the dynamics of their institutional development. The purpose of this article is to examine the introduction of child guidance in Australia against the backdrop of the international influences that shaped local developments.

The article investigates the establishment of child guidance clinics in Melbourne and Sydney in the 1930s. In doing so, it explores the influence of American philanthropy, the promise of prevention that inspired the mental hygiene movement, and some of the difficulties faced in putting its child guidance ideals into practice in Australia.

American philanthropy played an important role in the transnational carriage of ideas about mental hygiene and child guidance into Australia. However, it was state support of child guidance activities that proved critical to its establishment. In addition to institutional developments, what also emerges as important in the 1930s is the traction gained in the broader realm of ideas about “adjustment” and mental health, particularly in relation to the efficacy of early intervention and multidisciplinary approaches to treating problems of childhood.

In tracing its early development, the article argues for the importance of understanding child guidance not only in terms of its administrative successes and failures, but also more broadly in terms of how early intervention as an influential mode of thought and practice took root internationally.

It is said that travel broadens the mind, deepens the understanding and refreshes the spirit. Judging by the amount of long distance travel undertaken nowadays by more people than ever before, it may also be said to widen the beam! However, this brief article is mainly concerned with the scope and benefits of the Library Association's programme of internships.

IT is said that travel broadens the mind, deepens the understanding and refreshes the spirit. Judging by the amount of long distance travel undertaken nowadays by more people than ever before, it may also be said to widen the beam! However, this brief article is mainly concerned with the scope and benefits of the Library Association's programme of internships.

A communication barrier arises between overseas managers and head office staff when the latter cannot grasp foreign work contexts. The barrier hinders cross‐border management. Communication is likely to improve through training based on the research finding that managers tend to talk about problems in terms of dilemma, paradox and other tensions generated by environmental forces such as culture and politics. Such tensions pervade organizational, managerial and other literature. Learners who study the tension construct become adept at identifying tensions generated by forces affecting domestic as well as international scenarios. More research is needed, but indications are that head office staff learn to empathize with overseas colleagues, and become less inclined to rely on a domestic mindset when analyzing unfamiliar contexts. Study of the tension construct may also improve skills in other forms of scenario analysis, and refine learners' knowledge of negotiation dynamics. Tension analysis has potential as a generic skill for analyzing organizational issues at home and abroad.

The aim of this paper is to present a conceptual model on foreign-born health care workers from developing countries working in the US. The model covers their motivations for migration, the consequences in terms of the inequality and exclusion they may experience and the role of institutional responses at micro-, macro- and meso-level of intervention.

The paper is based on: (1) in-depth review of key literature studies on the foundation theories of international migration including sociology, economics, anthropology, psychology and human resource management, (2) analysis of theoretical approaches to medical migration across disciplines, (3) analysis of the international and national documentary sources of micro-, macro- and meso-level policies on migration and (4) analysis of evidence on best practices, solutions and aspirational changes across different levels of institutions.

(1) Migration of international medical graduates (IMGs) from developing countries to the US can be explained from a micro-, macro- and meso-level of analysis. (2) IMGs who identify as racial/ethnic minorities may experience unfair discrimination differently than their US-born counterparts. (3) Although political/legislative remedies have had some successes, proactive initiatives will be needed alongside enforcement strategies to achieve equity and inclusion. (4) While diversity management initiatives abound in organizations, those designed for the benefit of IMGs from developing countries are rare. (5) Professional identity groups and some nonprofits may challenge structural inequities, but these have not yet achieved economies of scale.

Although it is well-documented in the US health care literature how ethnic/racial minorities are unfairly disadvantaged in work and career, the studies are rarely disaggregated according to sub-groups (e.g. non-White IMGs and US-born MGs). The implication is that Black IMG immigrants have been overlooked by the predominant narratives of native-born, Black experiences. In placing the realities of native-born Blacks on the entire Black population in America, data have ignored and undermined the diverse histories, identities and experiences of this heterogeneous group.

An awareness of the challenges IMGs from developing countries face have implications for managerial decisions regarding recruitment and selection. Besides their medical qualifications, IMGs from developing countries offer employers additional qualities that are critical to success in health care delivery. Considering organizations traditionally favor White immigrants from Northern and Southern Europe, IMGs from developed countries migrate to the US under relatively easier circumstances. It is important to balance the scale in the decision-making process by including an evaluation of migration antecedents in comprehensive selection criteria.

The unfair discrimination faced by IMGs who identify as racial/ethnic minority are multilayered and will affect them in ways that are different compared to their US-born counterparts. In effect, researchers need to make this distinction in research on racial discrimination. Since IMGs are not all uniformly impacted by unfair discrimination, organization-wide audits should be in tune with issues that are of concerns to IMGs who identify as racial/ethnic minorities. Likewise, diversity management strategies should be more inclusive and should not ignore the intersectionality of race/ethnicity, nationality, country of qualification and gender.

Immigrant health care workers from developing countries are integral to the health care industry in the United States. They make up a significant proportion of all workers in the health care industry in the US. Although the literature is replete with studies on immigrant health care workers as a whole, research has rarely focused on immigrant health care workers from developing countries. The paper makes a valuable contribution in drawing attention to this underappreciated group, given their critical role in the ongoing pandemic and the need for the US health industry to retain their services to remain viable in the future.