History of RCBC
The Research Capacity Building Committee was initially conceptualized by Dr. Shaji KS when he was the President of the Indian Psychiatric Society South Zone. The subsequent Presidents, especially Dr. TP Sudhakar, Dr. P Kishan, and Dr. A Jagadeesh, gave further shape to the program and raised funds. BCPR was first started when Dr. K Ramakrishnan was the President, and the subsequent editions happened during the presidentships of Drs. Ramanan Earat, Uday Kumar, and Abhay Matkar - all of them supported the RCBC with encouragement, useful inputs, and finding sponsors.
Dr. MV Ashok was the chairperson for the first two years of BCPR, and Dr. Rajshekhar Bipeta performed the role for the third batch. Members of RCBC in these periods included Drs. N Nageswar Rao, PP Kannan, Indu PV, Ramanujam, and Samir Kumar Praharaj.
We were able to conduct contact sessions for the second and fourth batches because of the unconditional support and guidance from the administration of St. John's Medical College, Bengaluru, only.
IPS South Zone formed RCBC as one of its important arms to strengthen the research expertise of psychiatry teachers and students and also practising psychiatrists across India.
Course structure was initially shaped by Drs. MV Ashok and Denis Xavier and team and modified by subsequent committees based on participant feedback and their own observations.
In BCPR-4, all 50 seats were taken, and there was good attendance in the two contact sessions and the Zoom sessions. We received encouraging feedback from most participants.
