Some have requested information about the The American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. I see that a number of medicos in Western Australia and other states have this qualification. Some of the training appears to be quite generic and might be useful as a basis for commencing in medicolegal practice but there seems to be little to offer for psychiatrists. I was especially concerned by one module: “How to write winning reports”.
This group have provided some training in Adelaide and I would be interested in feedback from anybody who has gone through their training in October last year. For the moment I would be very cautious.
The American ethos for Independent Medical Examiners seems to be demonstrated by the title of the American publication – ‘Writing and Defending Your IME Report’ which I purchased some years ago.The book discusses the best way to express your opinion and techniques to get your views across in a courtroom, but nowhere in the book is there anything about being objective, evidence-based or fair in the opinions you might express! I too have my doubts about the value of ABIME. I did attend one of their courses some years ago and I don’t think it added much to my knowledge or practice, apart from the CME points!
Regards
Peter Sharman
Thanks Peter, your personal experience reinforces my concerns about the underlying ethos.
The American ethos for Independent Medical Examiners seems to be demonstrated by the title of the American publication – ‘Writing and Defending Your IME Report’ which I purchased some years ago.The book discusses the best way to express your opinion and techniques to get your views across in a courtroom, but nowhere in the book is there anything about being objective, evidence-based or fair in the opinions you might express! I too have my doubts about the value of ABIME. I did attend one of their courses some years ago and I don’t think it added much to my knowledge or practice, apart from the CME points!