&me – Malcom Kinnear

Malcolm Kinnear graduated in 1990, but had not completed his psychiatric training when he went on long-term sick leave with depression in 1997.

He joined the Doctors’ Support Network in 1999 and became active in organising its Scottish activities from 2004 as his mental health very gradually improved.

In 2009, he attempted to return to clinical practice, initially struggling to find a way back as no official route existed, but obtained a specialty doctor post with NHS Fife in open competition on the basis of his work with DSN as well as his independent continuing professional development (CPD).

Malcolm resumed full-time practice after a period of shadowing and part-time work. He applied successfully to re-enter higher psychiatric training in 2014 and obtained his Certificate of Completion Training in adult psychiatry in February 2017. He was then appointed to a substantive consultant psychiatrist post with a community mental health team in Dundee, with sessions in the Tayside specialist adult autism team.

Malcolm has actively advocated for better healthcare for doctors and is currently involved in a multi-organisation working group to set up a Managed Clinical Network for doctors with mental health problems in Scotland.

He has an honorary teaching position with the University of Dundee (twice nominated for a Faculty of Medical Educators award) in which capacity he reminds medical students to look after their own health and to remember that doctors can find themselves patients too. He also finds that having taken some of the medications he now prescribes can be rather helpful in terms of understanding their effects!