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Candidate for Member-in-Training Trustee-Elect

About the Candidate

Drew Ramsey, M.D.

Member-in-Training, 2001

• Psychiatry Resident, New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia University, 2000-
  
• Vice Chair, Committee on Residents, New York County District Branch, APA, 2002-
  
• Presenter, World Psychiatric Association XII Congress, Yokohama, Japan, 2002
  
• Resident Representative, Clinical Care Evaluation, Quality, and Performance Committee, 2000-
  
• Doctor of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), 2000
  
• Dean’s Appointed Student Representative, Academic Standards Committee, IUSOM, 1998-2000
  

Candidate’s Views

It is time for members-in-training (MITs) to increase our voice in APA. This is a crucial time for our profession, as policies made today will profoundly affect our careers for years to come. I want to represent your views, the position of members-in-training, in these debates.

My priorities reflect several facets of my background. First, my work in administrative and governing positions has helped me appreciate that well-presented resident views can help shape the future of our field.

Second, I grew up in poor, rural Indiana and have consequently become interested in health policy, especially as it affects psychiatric care for underserved populations.

Third, in the course of international work, I have witnessed a scarcity of mental health services, as well as our specialty’s need to understand how culture contributes to psychiatric disorders.

The Issues

• Increase the MIT Voice: We need an effective and efficient system to communicate with each other. MIT e-mail is an underutilized potential gateway for education and discussion of critical issues. By improving our communication, we can create an MIT agenda that presents major MIT issues directly to the APA Board of Trustees.
  
• Serve the Underserved: APA must work to increase the presence of mental health care in underserved areas. Psychologists have now gained prescribing rights in one state promising to fill this void. This problematic solution must be dealt with by direct action. Policies that improve access to mental health services for this population must be aggressively pursued.
  
• Advocate for Mental Health Parity: Health care reimbursement continues to reflect the stigmatization of mental illness. Currently, the Mental Health Equitable Treatment Act has unprecedented support in Congress. I will support the fight to gain parity for all of our patients.
  
• Continue Research Efforts: We must determine the etiologies of mental illnesses and the efficacy of all treatments. With unprecedented psychopharmacological options and a new ACGME policy that reinvigorates training in the psychotherapies, we need continued training that supports the development of MITs’ abilities to utilize and pursue research.
  
• Establish Cultural Competency: Culture has a profound effect on our specialty. Completing a residency in New York City, I am aware of cultural diversity and its impact on diagnosis and treatment. We need improved tools to help us meet the challenge of treating our diverse population.
  
• Foster International Psychiatry: The United States should assume a greater role in addressing international mental health need. As 40 percent of all countries have no formal psychiatric training programs, we must continue to support the training of international medical graduates in the United States. In addition, I support the development of new programs that facilitate MIT participation in international psychiatric experiences (see www.internationalpsychiatry.org).
  

These are some of the important issues. As your representative, I will help create a forum that will hear your voice and present it to the APA Board of Trustees. My past experiences and my willingness to speak out and work in conjunction with others would assist APA in continuing to support young psychiatrists. I appreciate your consideration and would be honored to serve as your MIT trustee-elect.

Primary Loci of Work and Sources of Income

Work:

    100%—New York Presbyterian Hospital–Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute

Income:

    100%—New York State Psychiatric Institute

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