New Medical Director Promises To ‘Hit the Ground Running’

A change in leadership is an important event for any organization. Pick the wrong leader and the organization risks years of turmoil and dissension. But pick the right leader and the organization will thrive. That’s why it is such a pleasure to introduce to you our new medical director, James (Jay) Scully, M.D.

In APA’s governance structure, the medical director is our chief administrative officer. (The analogous position at the AMA and other groups is held by the executive vice president.) APA’s medical director is responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the organization, including the management of our central office and its staff. Although the president is APA’s chief executive officer, the medical director plays a key role in helping to shape APA’s long-term strategy and shorter-range tactics; in sustaining working relationships with other professional and advocacy groups and federal agencies; and in working with our state associations, district branches, and members. By virtue of his or her longer tenure, compared with the presidents, who change each year, the medical director becomes, in many respects, the face of American psychiatry.

Thus, when our current medical director, Steven Mirin, M.D., notified the Board last December that he would be stepping down at the end of this calendar year, then President Richard Harding, M.D., and I set into motion a search process to identify the best possible person to fill the role. We worked together to assemble a search committee that reflected the breadth and diversity of APA and were delighted that past president Herbert Pardes, M.D., former dean of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and now CEO of New York Presbyterian Hospital, agreed to chair it. The goal was to have a new medical director designated by this fall, in time for a smooth transition.

Under Dr. Pardes’s vigorous leadership (if you have ever had the pleasure of working with Herb Pardes, you will recognize how apt that adjective is), the Search Committee swung into action. A job description was reviewed and revised, advertisements written and placed, and contacts were made with leaders in psychiatry seeking appropriate candidates. All APA members were invited, through notices in Psychiatric News, the American Journal of Psychiatry, and Psychiatric Services, to submit nominations to the committee. About two dozen CVs were collected and screened, and seven candidates were selected for face-to-face interviews over two weekends. The interviewers probed the candidates’ views on the major issues facing psychiatry and their suggestions for addressing them. In addition, committee members asked about leadership styles and experience and about the all-important issue of sustaining relationships with our members and our district branches.

By the end of the interview process, it was clear that two finalists stood out from among this excellent set of candidates. These two final candidates were invited to the June meeting of the Board of Trustees, where they were each interviewed by the Board as a whole. Every member of the Board had an opportunity to question both candidates. When we were done and discussed our impressions with each other, it was apparent that we had a broad consensus. Thus, I was not surprised when the Board voted unanimously to offer the position of medical director to Jay Scully.

Jay is supremely well qualified to help lead APA through the challenging years ahead. Currently professor and chair of the department of neuropsychiatry and behavioral science at the University of South Carolina, he is one of the outstanding figures in psychiatric education. Jay was the residency training director at the University of Colorado before becoming APA deputy medical director and director of our Office of Education in the mid-1990s. From the latter experience, he gained an intimate familiarity with the workings of the organization. On moving to South Carolina, in addition to his academic role, he oversaw the operations of a large public psychiatric facility and later served as interim director for the public mental health system.

Jay is a substantial presence on the national scene. As chair of the AMA’s Section Council on Psychiatry, he deserves a fair share of the credit for psychiatry’s success in becoming a significant force in the AMA’s House of Delegates. Jay also serves as a director of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and chair of the influential Residency Review Committee for psychiatric training. And something tells me that even his experience as a medical officer on a nuclear submarine may come in handy, since our medical directors often have to operate in tight quarters and under no small amount of pressure.

Once the Board authorized the negotiation of a contract with Jay, I asked Vice President Steve Sharfstein, M.D., and Area 2 Trustee (and former Assembly member) Ann Marie Sullivan, M.D., to join me on the Negotiating Committee. With guidance from the Board, we were acutely conscious that APA’s current economic situation called for staying within the parameters of compensation for comparably trained persons holding similar positions of high responsibility. Our goal was to negotiate a fair contract of which we could be proud and the terms of which could be shared openly with our members (Psychiatric News, October 4). I think we achieved that objective, and I was pleased that the Board agreed.

It was a special pleasure for me to sign the contract for our new medical director on behalf of our Association and our members. Between now and the end of the year, Jay will be traveling to Washington, D.C., regularly to get up to speed on the complex issues with which APA is dealing. He, Steve Mirin, and I are in nearly daily contact about the key decisions that need to be made. I have no question that he will be ready to hit the ground running in January. I think I can honestly say that Jay Scully is the right person at the right time for American psychiatry. When you have a chance to meet him, please join me in welcoming him as medical director of APA. ▪