Priorities
It is an honor to have been elected for the role of President-Elect of the APA. Alongside my energy and passion, I bring relevant experience working within and beyond our organization including Past Speaker of the Assembly, member of the APA Board of Trustees, Delegate at the American Medical Association House of Delegates for the Section Council on Psychiatry and direct experience with working with legislators both at national and state level to promote mental health initiatives.
Our profession is facing multiple challenges. I believe that, more than a one tenure plan, we need a cohesive, actionable, multi-year strategy to enact effective and permanent change. That’s why, as President-Elect, I will focus on a platform centered around ‘The Workforce Challenge’ facing the psychiatric profession.
The increased demand for psychiatric services has collided with a shortage of psychiatrists across the nation. It is alarming when 50 % of the counties in the USA do not have access to a psychiatrist. This situation is further complicated by a number of obstacles. As one of the oldest cohorts in the house of medicine, psychiatrists are currently in the midst of retiring at higher numbers than we can fill via graduating new residents. In spite of the increased numbers of residency spots over the past decade, this has not closed the gap.
Furthermore, non-clinical administrative burdens such as Prior Authorization and ever-expanding documentation requirements add to our already heavy workload. There are continued attempts by non-physicians to expand the scope of their practices. Another factor to consider is the pressing need to reinforce culturally competent psychiatric care to advance health equity. All this leading to increased practice fatigue.
This situation is not sustainable; we are already experiencing high levels of stress, overwork, burnout, and job dissatisfaction in our daily practice.
As President, I will work with you to craft a strategic plan to address the Workforce Challenge with clearly defined initiatives and goals. To name a few:
I will forcefully champion a psychiatrist-led mental health multidisciplinary team, thus harnessing the knowledge and experience of our membership.
I will seek to leverage the resources in academic centers to explore and improve innovative ways to expand access to services including models of collaborative care and behavioral integration in medical practices.
I will advocate towards the permanency of telepsychiatric services,
and promote diversity-enhancing interdisciplinary programs such as the Women’s Wellness Through Equity and Leadership (WEL), among other initiatives.
My overarching goal being that, over time, the implementation of initiatives developed under this strategic plan, will reverse our workforce challenges, enabling greater fulfilment in our practices, and ultimately achieving better patient outcomes.
This is an ambitious vision that will require time, commitment and support from all of us. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for the membership of the APA, this time in the capacity of President.
One more thought I want to share with you…
Over the past several years, we have repeatedly heard politicians point to “a broken mental health system” when confronted with difficult legislative decisions. In my opinion, while there is always room for improvement in any system, these statements not only trivialize complex societal problems, they ultimately portray psychiatric treatment as ineffective. As President, I commit to challenging politicians on this premise!
I will directly contact politicians who use this tactic and challenge them with a list of tangible initiatives. I believe that they either will choose to support one or more of these initiatives, which would be the preferred outcome, or possibly refrain from this type of hollow statement in the future.
I am poised to embark on this journey and work for our membership.
Thank you.
Theresa
