Download CANDIDATES FOR APA PRESIDENT-ELECT Barton J. Blinder, MD

CANDIDATES FOR APA PRESIDENT-ELECT
Barton J. Blinder, MD PhD
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute my background, priorities and point of view as nominee
for APA President-Elect to the AWP.
APA must focus on the concerns of women’s mental health issues. These issues include a wide
range of differences from frequency of suffering from domestic violence, to manifestation of
psychiatric illness, and to the fact that even dosages of medications have been developed for the
average male without consideration how that same dosage would affect the average female.
Throughout history, research has too often focused on males and although progress has been
made in designing clinical trials, women still are not enrolled at as high a frequency as men.
APA must focus on the concerns of women psychiatrists. Over the many years I have been in
practice, I have seen the difficulty my peers, including my daughter-in-law who is a woman
psychiatrist, have had with employment compensation, opportunities and consideration of work
place equity, and advancement. Although improvements have been made in these areas, much
work is still to be done. As APA President-Elect, I will strongly support the advances in treatment
of women patients, work to increase research of women’s mental health issues, and protect the
rights of women psychiatrists.
My background includes training at University of Pennsylvania for undergraduate studies,
medical school, and residency in adult and child psychiatry. Currently I am a Clinical Professor at
University of California, Irvine and serve on the Executive Council for the School of Medicine.
My experience includes adult and child psychiatry, psychiatric education, clinical research, and
three decades of private practice in the community. For over three decades I have been involved
in local District Branch and national APA Assembly leadership, APA initiatives in practice
guidelines, psychotherapy, and enhancing our scientific program among many others.
In addition to continued advancement of diagnosis, treatment, and access to care, we need
increasing public education, awareness, and understanding of the psychiatrist’s critical role in
providing quality care in expanded medical settings. Dissolving the mind-brain barrier and
integrating psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy should be a desired goal.
For more details, please visit my website at http://www.BartonBlinder.com. I have posted an
article I have written entitled “The Evolving Face of Psychiatry: Demons, Molecules, and Genes”
on my website for my perspective of the future of psychiatry. Some of my additional priorities
include the following:
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As Affordable Care Act and Accountable Care Organizations evolve, assure that quality
treatment is delivered and practitioners’ and patients’ interests are protected.
Encourage DSM-5 use and modification to reflect the symptoms of psychiatric disorders
and diagnostic concerns of clinicians. Collaborate with NIMH to transition from
categorical to research based diagnoses.
Utilize an APA based personalized homepage to enhance APA membership connection
and involvement. As APA President, I will work toward greater connection between
APA, our membership, NIMH, and the general public.
Maria A. Oquendo, M.D.
I would be grateful for your vote and support in the upcoming election. Together we can build a
strong, effective, and responsive APA.
While in medical school, I fell in love with psychiatry. The possibility of getting to know
patients in depth and to make a difference in their lives held tremendous appeal. In psychiatry, it
was possible then and even more so nowadays, to follow a thorough, comprehensive model of
medicine. Today, some of the patients I see have worked with me for over 25 years.
I trained in psychiatry at the Payne Whitney Clinic, Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York
City, and joined the faculty at Columbia upon graduation in 1988. For the first 8 years, I worked
as a community psychiatrist on an inpatient unit, teaching second year residents how to take care
of acutely psychotic patients. Being able to serve the community while educating and mentoring
was a thrill which connected well with my interest in cross cultural psychiatry, now considered
part of global mental health. In the mid 1990’s, I decided to enhance my academic work with
research initiatives and began working on mood disorders and suicidal behavior, focused on both
psychopharmacology and neurobiology. Research was exciting and rewarding and as I became a
seasoned investigator, I treasured the opportunity to return to my original calling: education and
mentoring.
I became Vice Chair for Education and Psychiatry Training Director at Columbia University and
New York State Psychiatric Institute in 2007. Teaching, guiding and supporting trainees as they
develop and grow as psychiatrists, continues to be immensely rewarding. Whether they want to
be community psychiatrists, clinicians, psychoanalysts or researchers, I always encourage them to
pursue excellence.
As a working mom, I am no stranger to the demands of striking a balance between home life and
work and have spent many hours talking with young psychiatrists, especially women about
strategies to make it work. Helping women figure out how best to advance their career is
something I am passionate about. Indeed, just today, at the Women’s Luncheon at the American
College of Neuropsychopharmacology, I had the privilege of talking with young women who are
trying to succeed while raising young children, or in academic departments where they are one of
just a handful of women. There is still much work to be done to ensure equality for women in the
workplace, while keeping the flexibility that women need to tend to issues at home. Finding this
balance between work and family is key because ultimately, we are happiest when we can derive
satisfaction in both our personal and our professional lives.
I am honored to have had the opportunity to bring some of these experiences to bear at a national
level, as secretary of the APA. Now, I look to continue to support the APA in its endeavors as
President-Elect as the APA strives to communicate effectively with its membership, optimize our
discipline’s performance at national and international levels, and maximize the rewards of being a
psychiatrist in America.
Charles F. Reynolds III, MD
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UPMC Endowed Professor; Director, NIMH Research/Mentoring Center on Prevention
and Treatment of Mood Disorders in Older Adults; Director, UPMC Aging Institute
DSM-5 Task Force (chair, sleep/wake disorders workgroup);member DSM-5.1 Planning
Committee
Past President: American College of Psychiatrists; International College for Geriatric
Psychoneuropharmacology; American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry; American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention
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Member, IoM panels on suicide prevention, sleep disorders, eldercare workforce;
editorial board, JAMA Psychiatry; member, American Psychological Association
Depression Guideline Panel; member, PA commissions on eldercare and dementia; past
member, NIMH Advisory Council
JAMA Psychiatry and Focus Editorial Boards; past editor, PRITE (ACP)
I appreciate the opportunity to address the Association of Women Psychiatrists. This statement
reflects my values as a physician/scientist, educator/mentor, citizen of the biomedical research
community, advocate for psychiatry, partner with consumer groups, and clinician over four
decades. I have conducted NIH-sponsored research in treatment and prevention of late life
depression and implementation of evidence-based pharmacotherapies and psychotherapies in
general medical settings. My professional commitment has always been to bridge science with
service and policy, as director of an NIMH research/mentoring center, and a multidisciplinary
Aging Institute at UPMC.
The APA's impact for the good on the nation's health can continue to grow if we focus our
collective intelligence, passion, and wisdom on bridging science and service. The need exists for
new diagnostic, treatment, and prevention approaches to be informed by neuroscience,
epidemiology, and social sciences including medical anthropology. Psychiatry is an aging
profession; we need to attract younger physicians using as a magnet the excitement of
contemporary neuroscience so that we can address the increasing need of patient care. In 2011, I
received the APA/AACDP Research/Mentor Award, having mentored more than 150 medical
students and of these, 36% are women: Predoctoral Candidates – 8 women of 29 students;
Postdoctoral candidates – 7 women of 23; Junior Faculty – 12 women of 23; T32 Grant
Supported Research Elective Students – 30 women of 80. I believe that the future of psychiatry
rests in its integration with primary care medicine and pediatrics, and with a focus on early
intervention and prevention to mitigate and delay of the clinical burden of mental disorders. The
time is right for psychiatry to be integrated into medical homes, with a focus on value-based care,
not volume.
Top Emphases as APA President
 Continue efforts to make DSM-5 a living, breathing document
 Advocate for psychiatry and mental health services in medical homes
 Engage psychiatry in prevention/interventions, particularly for underserved Americans
with stigma and access issues
 Promote engagement of APA and psychiatry in global mental health outreach
 Attend to “pipeline” issues of recruiting students into psychiatry by promoting excellence
in teaching and mentoring, and extending the excitement of clinical neuroscience to
residency programs
APA's impact on national and global health can continue to grow if we focus our collective
intelligence, passion, and wisdom on bridging science and service. For more information, visit
www.CharlesFReynolds3MD.com.