The third annual residential conference of the Section was held in Jersey from 5 to 7 March 1992. One hundred and twenty delegates gathered to hear from a range of practitioners. Trainees had a high profile – the policy of increasing to a third the proportion of higher trainees intending to be old age psychiatrists is beginning to bear fruit. A whole morning session was devoted to higher training issues ranging from the historical view of the relationship between old age psychiatry (OAP) and geriatrics, to a review of a successful higher training scheme, to innovative hopes for the future in the shape of Individual Performance Review (IPR) and an audit of audit. The senior registrar group's nationwide survey of current higher training experiences was presented.

On 21 January 1992 the annual Trainees' Forum, organised by the Collegiate Trainees' Committee, was held in London as part of the Winter Quarterly Meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. The theme was European integration and the implications for training in psychiatry. Three speakers presented different aspects of this topic: Dr Fiona Caldicott, Dean of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, spoke on the role of the College in Europe; Dr Sharon Binyon, of the BMA Permanent Working Group of European Junior Doctors, spoke on medical manpower issues; and Dr Jim van Os, from the Institute of Psychiatry, looked at recent research illustrating differences in the understanding and treatment of psychiatric illnesses between France and the UK.

The College Research Unit was established initially with donations from College members. After a year of pilot work and fund-raising a programme of work began in October 1990 supported by a three-year grant from the Department of Health. The main theme of the programme is clinical audit. This report outlines the nature and role of audit in psychiatry, describes the structure of the Unit, and presents a brief summary of the Unit's work.