Receiving a Fellowship from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists recently was a proud moment for Dr Sujee Hewamadduma from Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.
A scholarly project was one of six assessments undertaken in the training program and included Dr Hewamadduma’s research paper titled ‘Attitudes of Mental Health Staff Towards the Sexual Health and Sexuality Needs and Concerns of People with Major Mental Illness: A Quantitative Survey Study.’
Dr Hewamadduma said he began his research project back in 2019 and greatly appreciated the support he received from Dr Elnike Brand and Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service Research Director Angela Ratsch during the initial phase.
“I had several sessions on academic literacy including EndNote training with Angela which was immensely helpful during the writing phase,” he said.
“The writing process took longer than I expected due to logistical challenges related to my other clinical and training program commitments.”
Also assisting were Research Consumer Group members Ian and Margaret Stehbens.
“Ian and Margaret played a crucial role in guiding me to complete the write-up by providing valuable suggestions based on their expertise in research and Liz Burmeister assisted me in clarifying certain issues related to statistics.”
Dr Hewamadduma said working with the Research Consumer Group was an overall positive experience.
“I’m hoping to work with them again in the future to do more research,” he added.
In congratulating Dr Hewamadduma, Angela said this was a tremendous achievement for him and showed another angle to the value-adding that the Research Consumer Group provides.
“Ian and Margaret went above and beyond to ensure the manuscript tackled not only the English language intricacies and nuances, but articulated the research design, methods and findings in a way that the College accepted the manuscript with no changes,” Angela said.
“We’re grateful that Ian and Margaret invested so much of their time, effort and intellect in what I hope was a two-way learning experience.”
Having both completed Master’s degrees and with an understanding of research and research methodology, Ian and Margaret are valuable members of the Research Consumer Group.
When they became involved with Sri Lankan national Dr Hewamadduma, he had already done the research but was facing challenges within the research design.
“Privacy protocols meant he couldn’t actually get the results he was looking for and we were able to help him by discussing his work,” Margaret said.
“We gave him encouragement and independent input.”
Ian explained there is a certain culture in medicine with the way people learn, think and write to respond to challenges.
“Margaret and I have a background in assisting people from other countries with their learning and this was a natural fit for us to encourage and mentor Sujee,” he said.
“Research doesn’t always give you the outcomes you’re seeking, and our role was to help him turn that into a positive and break through the inhibitors.”
It’s a long journey to complete a Fellowship in any discipline and Margaret and Ian rejoice with Dr Hewamadduma and his family.
“He deserves full recognition for his competency, realness, passion and knowledge in the mental health field,” Ian said.