APA Members Vote Stotland Next President-Elect

APA members have voted to make Chicago psychiatrist Nada Stotland, M.D., their next president-elect. Stotland, who will complete a term as APA vice president in May, defeated Spencer Eth, M.D., of New York with 58.8 percent of the vote.

“Becoming the president of APA is a great honor and a great responsibility,” Stotland told Psychiatric News. “Here are some of the things I plan to do while entrusted with that role.

“I will work closely with mental health advocacy groups and the leaders of our fellow professionals. Psychologists shouldn't prescribe, but they should work with us as we fight to get people with mental illness out of prisons, off the streets, and into quality care. Those fortunate enough to have health insurance should get the services that insurance is supposed to cover. Our task force on psychiatric care in underserved areas will continue to provide ideas and tools for our members in states with large rural and inner-city populations.

“I will work to make the composition of APA components and leadership positions look more like the composition of our diverse membership and our population, and I will ask you to identify qualified candidates for those positions.

“ We know what we don't like about the practice of psychiatry at present. Now we need to decide what kind of general health care and mental health care system we want. We have been reactive; we need to be proactive. APA should help to shape and prepare us for the psychiatry of five and 10 years from now. As a presidential project, I will convene a panel of experts in policy and prognostication to give us a basis for an informed and serious associationwide discussion.

“I will continue to speak on behalf of APA and to help our members communicate effectively in all important print and broadcast forums, local and national. The more we convey the message that we are patient centered and public-health minded, the more effective we will be.

“I will continue to develop ways to make the workings of APA ever more transparent and comprehensible to our members.

“I will listen carefully to your observations and suggestions.

“I will remember that we became psychiatrists to provide care for people who are suffering. Ultimately, it's all about the patients.”

Stotland has served in a wide range of posts at APA, including terms as chair of the Committee on Women and the Joint Commission on Public Affairs. She has also been speaker of the Assembly and served on the Board of Trustees as secretary-treasurer and is now APA vice president.

In the contest for vice president, Carol Bernstein, M.D., of New York outpolled Renée Binder, M.D., of San Francisco in the closest of the races in this year's election. Bernstein garnered 52 percent of the vote. She was APA treasurer from 2000 to 2004.

Three candidates vied for the at-large trustee position in this election: Roger Peele, M.D., of Rockville, Md., Joseph Rubin, M.D., of Portland, Maine, and Jagannathan Srinivasaraghavan, M.D., of Anna, Ill. Peele was victorious, receiving 42.8 percent of the votes in the first round of ballot counting and 56.6 percent in the second round.

In races with more than two candidates APA uses a “preferential voting system” in which voters are asked to rank the candidates in the order in which they would like to see them win. If no candidate garners a majority in the first round of counting, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated—in this case that was Srinivasaraghavan—and the second-choice votes on the ballots cast for him or her are distributed to the remaining candidates. Peele received a majority after the redistributed votes were tallied.

The preferential voting mechanism was also used to determine who the next member-in-training trustee-elect would be. Lauren sitzer, M.D., a resident in the Harvard-Longwood program, outpolled Chris Esguerra, M.D., of Mountain View, Calif., and Samantha Shlakman, M.D., of Washington, D.C. Sitzer received 44.1 percent of the votes in the first round of counting and 60 percent in the second round.

Two Area races were also held in the recent election. In Area 3 John Urbaitis, M.D., of Baltimore won 61.3 percent of the vote to 38.7 percent for Houshang Hamadani, M.D., of Allentown, Pa. Area 3 includes New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

In Area 6, which encompasses all of the California district branches, Thomas Ciesla, M.D., of Santa Monica, Calif. won a second term on the Board, besting Ravi Goklaney, M.D., of Bakersfield, Calif., by 63.7 percent to 36.3 percent.

The newly elected officers and trustees will take office at the close of APA's 2007 annual meeting in San Diego. Also at that time President-Elect Carolyn Robinowitz, M.D., will become president, and Member-in-Training Trustee-Elect Abigail Donovan, M.D., will become the member-in-training trustee. (Unlike the member-in-training trustee, the member-in-training trustee-elect does not have a vote on the Board.)

A total of 9,231 APA members, or 29 percent of those eligible to vote, cast ballots in this year's election. That total is down from 32.4 percent in last year's election.

The online voting option continues to grow in popularity among APA voters. Last year 28.3 percent of ballots were submitted online; this year 32.4 percent were. ▪