Professor Phyllis Butow

	Professor Phyllis Butow PhD (Sydney University)
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Formal Teacher Training

• Dip. Ed. in Primary School Teaching (1979)
• Medical Interview Training Association (MITA) course, England, 1996.

University of Sydney/Clinical Schools

1. School of Psychology
Prof Butow co-ordinates two 4th year courses on Health Psychology, available to Honours and GDS students:
• PSYC4503 Special Fields Topic. Health Psychology
• PSYC4715 Special Field Seminars: Health Psychology

These courses elucidate the principles of Health Psychology (which is concerned with human behaviour in the context of health & illness), via critical evaluation of their relevance to various health problems. Topics covered include risk perception, genetic counseling and testing, health and illness behaviour, psychosocial predictors of disease development and outcome, psychosocial interventions, doctor-patient communication and end-of-life issues. A range of illnesses and conditions are used as case examples, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain.

Prof. Butow also offers a weekly Post-graduate seminar on Risk perception and Health Decision-making.

2. Faculty of Medicine Medical Program
Prof Butow has been a member of the Patient/Doctor Committee of the GMP since 1998. In addition, she was a member of the Cancer Block 9 committee and acted as liaison between that committee and the Patient/Doctor committee in 1999.

Prof Butow is a founding member of and teacher within the Pam Maclean Communication Skills Training Centre, a joint initiative of the Northern Clinical School and the Faculty of Medicine. This Centre provides communication training within the Medical Program, as well as to other professional groups.

Prof Butow has authored and delivered lectures and seminars in multiple sites during the Cancer Block 9 of the GMP since 1998.
• Lectures on: Consumer involvement in breast cancer; Quality of life; Patient satisfaction with care/medico-legal issues
• Seminar on: Patient expectations and outcomes
• Learning topic on: Patient support in adversity

Prof Butow was awarded a Excellence in Teaching Award from the Central Clinical School for teaching within the GMP in 2002.

3. Lectures and seminars: Other
• Prof Butow lectures regularly in the Oncology course run through the University of Sydney, co-ordinated by Prof Michael Barton. This course provides training to radiotherapy and oncology registrars and interns.
• Prof Butow, in collaboration with Drs Martin Stockler and Glen Salkeld, designed a course in Patient Based Measurement within the Masters of Clinical Epidemiology for the Dept of Public Healthy, and has delivered and co-administered this program since 2001.
• Prof Butow participated in the planning of a Genetics and Public Health Short Course in 2000, and delivers a lecture on Psychological aspects of Genetic counseling and testing each year.
• Prof Butow teaches in an Epidemiology and Research Design course within the Masters of Surgery, offered by the University from 2004.

4. Postgraduate student supervision: Psychology, Medicine, Psychological Medicine and Public Health
• Prof Butow supervises a range of students towards Honours, Masters and PhD degrees
• Between 2001 and 2002 she was the Post-graduate Co-ordinator for the Department of Psychological Medicine
• In 2003 she was awarded the SUPRA award for Post-graduate teacher of the year.

Community and Professional Settings

NHMRC
• Prof Butow has sat on the NHMRC program grant review committee since 2002.
• Prof Butow was a member or an NHMRC review panel reviewing the efficacy of psychosocial research into AIDS in Australia in 2003.
• Prof Butow regularly reviews grants for NHMRC and numerous other granting bodies.

National Breast Cancer Centre
• Prof Butow has been a member of the Psychosocial Working Group of the National Breast Cancer Centre since its inception in 1996. Through this role, she has contributed to the content and development of the Psychosocial Guidelines in Cancer Care document, currently under review by the NHMRC.
• Prof Butow has Chaired the Communication Skills Working Group of the National Breast Cancer Centre since 2000 and has facilitated communication skills training workshops with NBCC since 1997. She has also developed and delivered Train-the-Trainer workshops in communication skills training for NBCC, and Chaired the organizing committee of the inaugural and 2nd Australian Conference on Medical Communication Skills Training held in Canberra in 2002 and 2003.
• Prof Butow was part of the faculty for training the Clinical Breast Cancer Nurse Specialists, who participated in a trial of their contribution to clinical services around Australia.

New South Wales Cancer Council
• Prof Butow has been the COSA nominee to the NSW Cancer Council Board since 2002
• Prof Butow has been a member of the NSW Cancer Council Research Committee since 2001
• Prof Butow has been part of the faculty for many workshops run by the NSW Cancer Council over the past 5 years. Examples include:
- Ethical decision-making in the Oncology Setting, 1997
- Interaction skills training, 1997
- Multidisciplinary communication, 1998
- Communication in Radiation Oncology, 1998
• Prof Butow have has sat on committees allocating reviewers to State Cancer Council Grants all over Australia on behalf of the NSW Cancer Council.

Clinical Oncological Society of Australia (COSA)
• Prof Butow has been a member of the COSA executive committee since 1999.
• Prof Butow has been Chair of the Psycho-Oncology group of COSA since 1999.
• As Secretary to the Psycho-Oncology group, Prof Butow initiated, organised and chaired a Communication in Cancer Care conference, a 2 day program held in Sydney, 1996, and a 1-day mid-year meeting on eliciting and responding to emotional cues in Melbourne, 2001.

Australian Cancer Society: Oncology Education Committee
• Prof Butow is a member of this committee, which was formed in 1995 to assist the development of cancer teaching in medical education courses. It includes representatives from every medical school in Sutralia and New Zealand. It has as a broad plan to revise the ACS curriculum guidelines and to develop standards and uniform tools of assessment. Prof Butow is a member of the committee, as an expert in doctor/patient communication.

Cancer Support Centre, Griffith University and Queensland Cancer Fund, Collaborative Centre for Psycho-Oncology
• Board Member

Pam Maclean Centre; Communication Skills Training for Cancer Professionals, Royal North Shore Hospital
• Member of Scientific Advisory Group
• Faculty member. Prof Butow has facilitated many communication skills training workshops for the Pam Maclean Centre with a range of Oncology Health professionals.

Breast Cancer Network, Australia
• Member, Medical and Scientific Reference Group. April 2003-April 2005

Breast Screen, Central and Eastern Sydney Area Health Service
• Prof Butow and Ms Elizabeth Lobb of the Medical Psychology Unit ran a conflict resolution workshop for this service in 1998 and Prof Butow has provided supervision to clinical nurse counsellors employed in this service.

Professionals working in Oncology
• A peer support group of psychologists working in Oncology Departments in six Sydney hospitals meets monthly at the Medical Psychology Unit.