A Career in Psychiatry
Meet Professor Simon Wessely MA, BM BCh, MSc, MD,
FRCP,FRCPsych, F Med Sci.
Medical Careers met with leading psychiatrist, Professor Simon
Wessely in his busy office to gain a glimpse into the life of
a man who is highly respected for his leading work
in research, teaching, clinical and advisory roles as a
psychiatrist.
His CV (shortened below) is testament to the breadth and depth
of his wide experience and we were delighted to be able to
seek his insight into what it takes to be a good psychiatrist and
what the profession needs in a recruit..
Click below to watch the interview video.
(This video lasts 7 min and 21 secs)
NB: you can also view our videos on
You-Tube.
Professor Wessely's CV
- Vice Dean, Academic Psychiatry, Teaching and Training:
Institute of Psychiatry
- Head, Department of Psychological Medicine, Institute of
Psychiatry
- Director, King’s Centre for Military Health Research, Institute
of Psychiatry, King’s College London
- Professor of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of
Psychiatry, King’s College London
- Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at King’s and Maudsley
Hospitals.
His research interests are in the grey areas between medicine
and psychiatry, clinical epidemiology, psychiatric injury and
military health. He has published over 550 papers on many subjects.
His research has covered epidemiology, post traumatic stress,
psychological debriefing, chronic fatigue syndrome, history,
chronic pain, somatisation, Gulf War illness, military health and
terrorism.
In the first part of his career his main areas of research
focussed around clinical epidemiology, and with special emphasis on
unexplained symptoms and syndromes, most particularly the chronic
fatigue syndrome.
Latterly his research has shifted towards various aspects of
military health.
He is Director of the King’s Centre for Military Health Research
Unit at King’s College London. In 2006 the unit published the first
results of a study of the physical and psychological health of
12,000 UK military personnel, half of whom have served in the Iraq
conflict.
He was elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences in 1999.