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Candidates for President-Elect Respond

Sidney Weissman, M.D.

The events of September 11 have changed our world. Psychiatry has a special role in this new order. Our knowledge and skills in dealing with stress give us special responsibilities in guiding public mental health policy. In the future, will APA respond?

APA has a structure designed for another era. This is demonstrated by the inability of the Board and medical director to effectively monitor expenses, with a resultant budgetary crisis. We are losing a thousand members a year; by 2010 only half of the nation’s psychiatrists may be members. With reduced members, APA will have limited power to advocate for our patients and the profession. With reduced income, its financial viability and that of its district branches may be threatened. APA must review the responsibilities and functioning of its organizational structure and staff and reshape them. In the absence of a new structure, we will be unable to fulfill our goals.

OUR GOALS:

• Work to abolish managed care carveouts and restrictive practices.
  
• Reshape APA’s priorities.
  
• Revise the governing structure of the APA/district branch relationship.
  
• Develop new strategies to communicate with the public about the unique differences between psychiatrists and other mental health providers.
  
• Clarify why psychologist prescribing is bad public policy.
  
• Communicate and affirm the activities, expertise, and functions of APA that define each of us and APA. Renaming or rebranding APA and its district branches at an enormous cost for what is only a cosmetic name change will not further our cause. We must restructure APA so that we can work more effectively together.
  
• Ensure that women and minorities have equal opportunities to participate and lead in APA and district branch affairs. All psychiatrists must have equal career opportunities.
  
• Ensure culturally competent care of all of our patients, including the seriously chronically mentally ill.
  
• Ensure adequate funding for psychiatric education and research.
  

These are a few of the goals I espouse. I look forward to working with you to create a revitalized APA.

Related Article:

Election Issue Follow-Up
Psychiatr News 2001 36: 4. [Full Text]

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