Candidates for President-Elect
APA Secretary, 2001-03; Vice President, 2003-
Served on over 50 APA components since 1967
Recipient, APA George Tarjan Award, in Recognition of IMGs' Contributions to Psychiatry, 2002
President, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, 2002
President, American College of Psychiatrists, 2000-01
Tenured Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 1993-
Given the opportunity to be president of APA, I will be a strong and visionary leader. I have been a proud and enthusiastic member of APA for over three decades. During this period, I have worked very hard for the patients we serve, our profession, and APA. My entire career as a physician and psychiatrist has been based upon a deep-rooted set of principles and values including (1) primacy of patient welfare, (2) primacy of patient autonomy, (3) primacy of social justice, (4) commitment to patient rights and human rights, (5) commitment to professional competence and evidence-based scientific knowledge, (6) commitment to high-quality mental health care, and (7) commitment to fair distribution of resources. Our field is currently facing major challenges, the most important of which is the systematic defunding of the mental health care system. If we are to protect our patients and our profession, our APA leadership must be strong and consistent. We must act together and decisively to reverse this defunding trend. To succeed with these goals, we must have clear priorities and well-planned strategies, and be fully united as a profession. With your support and guidance, we can achieve the following objectives:
Advocate for laws banning nonphysician prescribing authority and practices.
Strive for universal health and mental health coverage, as well as parity.
Secure fair managed care practices and the removal of immunity from medical liability decisions.
Seek better and fair funding for public-sector programs.
Strive for maintenance of full transparency, as well as of fiscal and fiduciary responsibility, in APA.
Strive for membership-driven programs and priorities within APA.
Fight to preserve the doctor-patient relationship and full patient care confidentiality.
Reduce APA dues, particularly for early career psychiatrists.
Enhance collaboration and partnership with patient-oriented organizations and groups.
Advocate and initiate measures to achieve complete diversity representation of IMGs, women, gays and lesbians, as well as ethnic minority psychiatrists, in all levels of APA and in organized medicine.
Enhance and achieve full unity among all APA structures (for example, Board, Assembly, district branches, and related components), including fair distributions of financial resources.
Renew creative efforts to recruit and retain members in APA, particularly psychiatry residents and young psychiatrists.
Advocate for better funding and support of high-quality research and educational programs.
Improve the image of our profession within organized medicine, the field at large, and society.
Develop a long-term financial plan for APA in collaboration with the Assembly and district branches.
Strive for patient rights and human rights.
Strive to abolish stigma, prejudice, and discrimination vis-à-vis mental illness, our patients, and our profession.
I look forward to working collaboratively with all APA members in achieving these goals and objectives.
Primary Professional Activities and Sources of Income
Professional Activities
100%—University of Texas Medical School at Houston
Income
100%—University of Texas Medical School at Houston
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Published online: 3 December 2004
Published in print: December 3, 2004
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