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Candidate for Treasurer

About the Candidate

Carol A. Bernstein, M.D.

Fellow, 1981

http://www.med.nyu.edu/Psych/bernsteinapa.htm

• New York University School of Medicine: Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Director of Residency Training in Psychiatry, 1993- ; Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education, 2001-
  
• APA Treasurer, 2000- ; APA Trustee-at-Large, 1995-98
  
• Scientific Program Committee, APA Institute on Psychiatric Services: Member, 1994-98; Chair: 1997-98
  
• Chair, APA Committee on Graduate Education, 1998-2000; Chair, APA Committee on Medical Student Education, 1992-95
  
• Representative, NY County DB, APA Assembly, 1989-95; Member, Executive Committee, 1987-95
  
• Practice of General Psychiatry, 1984-
  

Candidate’s Views

As we all struggle to cope with the catastrophic events of September 11, APA’s mission to promote the delivery of the highest-quality psychiatric care has never been more significant. It is imperative that we refine and streamline our strategic goals in a fiscally prudent way so that we can continue to provide much-needed services to our patients and our members at this important moment in our nation’s history. We face difficult times ahead, but we must move forward in order to provide better advocacy, increased accountability, and direction to ensure that APA is well positioned to meet these challenges.

Since 1998, we have had a 36 percent increase in our operating budget. Initially, these increases were thought to be the result of one-time expenses such as those for consultants. However, there have been ongoing expenses from the initiation of new projects, increases in personnel, and increases in both the number and cost of governance meetings. At the same time, we have had to confront a steep decline in membership and uncertainties in the stock market, which have diminished anticipated increases to our reserves.

As your treasurer over the past year and a half, I have worked diligently to clarify issues in the budget and identify possible solutions to most prudently address the deficit. I have been an active member of the work plan task force initiated by Dr. Richard Harding, which has been charged with helping APA plan for the future by more clearly defining projects and priorities and the costs associated with them. This is a difficult task in an organization that has worked hard to be inclusive and support the many issues of value to our diverse membership. Nevertheless, APA leadership must undertake the complex chore of prioritizing what we do so that we can be both effective and fiscally responsible at the same time. We must assist the central office staff in its efforts to reduce spending and work together with them and the voluntary leadership to provide ongoing guidance as we implement further cost reductions. This may mean deferring efforts in areas that some of our members hold dear. It may also mean restructuring governance, reducing the number of meetings, downsizing, and maximizing the use of teleconferencing whenever possible. A failure to make these decisions will render APA impotent and irrelevant.

With your support, I will continue to:

• Hold APA leadership accountable for their actions and expenses, and monitor and streamline expenditures so that priorities are met and dues are reduced.
  
• Fight for universal access to health care, for parity, for confidentiality, and for the preservation of the doctor-patient relationship.
  
• Recruit the best and the brightest medical students to the field and promote leadership in the next generation, ensuring that women, minorities, IMGs, and early career psychiatrists are adequately represented.
  
• Use new technologies to communicate more effectively with our members and the public by finding fiscal resources that are not so dependent on pharmaceutical company support.
  
• Provide the highest-quality educational programs for our membership and advocate for research programs that demonstrate the efficacy of the full spectrum of psychiatric treatments.
  
• Develop effective government relations and public relations strategies to guarantee that our patients get the care they need.
  
• Work tirelessly to reinvigorate our organization and increase its relevance to the next generation of psychiatrists and patients.
  

I would be honored to continue to work on your behalf.

Primary Loci of Work and Sources of Income
Work: 100%—NYU School of Medicine, direction and administration of the Residency Training Program in Psychiatry, cochair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee, and treating patients.

Income: 100%—NYU School of Medicine

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