Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, N.Y., 1989- ; Medical Director, Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program, Schneider Children’s and Hillside Hospital, N. Shore-LIJ Health System, N.Y.; Private Practice.

APA Assembly, Deputy Representative, 1999-2000; Acting Deputy Representative, 1996-97

President, Queens County Psychiatric Society, 1997-98

APA Committee on Poverty, Homelessness, and Psychiatric Disorders, 1998-

APA/CMHS and AstraZeneca Minority Fellowship Committee, 1996-

Chair, Board of Trustees, Indo-American Psychiatric Association (IAPA)

President, IAPA, 1994-96; Founding Member, IAPA

Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists, London

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Member, 1989-

Ready for the Board: The trustee-at-large represents each and every member of APA. Once every three years, the position goes to an ECP, who is able to articulate the needs and aspirations of the younger members. It is admirable that either a minority female or an IMG will serve in this position, giving a voice to these underrepresented groups. More than 25 percent of APA members are IMGs. Psychiatrists from the Indian subcontinent make up about 5 percent to 10 percent of APA membership, and they have contributed significantly to public psychiatry, academia, research, and APA governance in the DBs, Area Councils, Assembly, and components.

Mission of APA: Strive to ensure quality care for all patients. Strive to fulfill the needs and aspirations of its members.

Quality Care: Under the current health care system, where cost control is the only goal, various mechanisms have been put in place to deny access to care, limit care, or deny care. We need to educate our patients and influence our lawmakers that the patient should be the owner of his or her health plan. The choice of insurance plan should include true parity for mental illness. It would be ideal if all U.S. residents are covered and preexisting conditions are not excluded. We should strive for universal health coverage that is not interrupted by job changes. Our patients and we must feel secure that medical records are confidential and cannot be misused.

Members: A sense of belonging and an emotional attachment to APA need to be fostered in our members. They should feel that APA is relevant, listens to their needs and concerns, and responds to them quickly. Members need to communicate their concerns by alerting their DB leadership and being active at the DB level. APA needs to effectively communicate what it has been doing and how it impacts on the practice of psychiatry, either directly or indirectly. A drive at the DB level to recruit MITs and general members, listing the benefits in concrete terms, needs to be initiated. Specific programs for MITs and ECPs can help in retaining membership.

Revenue: The Board of Trustees has to implement revenue sharing in a fair and equitable manner. The Board should set an example by cutting its expenses at a percentage higher than proposed in other areas. Alternative ways of increasing our income need to be developed instead of heavy dependence on pharmaceutical industry.

Autonomy: Intrusion of third parties in the doctor-patient relationship has eroded our capacity to make medical decisions, which are in our patients’ best interest. It has impacted on our self-esteem and income. Let us unite to restore autonomy.

Scope of practice: This is a euphemism to allow prescription privileges to psychologists and other professionals. Each year there is a fight in the legislature in various states, which uses up significant resources of APA. Members need to be vigilant, and we must not slacken our efforts. We also need to develop networking at the government affairs level with each state to share information and strategies, so that we do not reinvent the wheel every year.

Workforce: This is one of the most critical issues facing us. Our specialty is heavily dependent on IMGs in our training programs and in caring for the underserved population in the public sector. The changes by ECFMG in the administration of the USMLE has created undue hardship and dried up the pool of available IMGs. The reduction in training slots and HCFA’s regulations and cutbacks in graduate medical education funding have further impacted the training of psychiatrists. The presence of IMGs on the Board will give voice to this issue.

Leadership: I have been involved at the leadership level of our DB for the past seven years and have effectively represented the members in the APA Assembly and Area 2. Leadership involves standing for core principles as well as building coalitions. I cast the only dissenting vote on behalf of the Queens DB when a proposal to study the feasibility of floating a managed care entity by Area 2 was put forward. I was able to forge a coalition to help pass an action paper on universal uninterrupted health care for all U.S. residents in the Assembly. I am active in the National Minority Mentors Network. I am a founding member of the Indo-American Psychiatric Association (IAPA) and am currently the chair of its Board of Trustees. IAPA recently began to provide free psychiatric services to the South-Asian community in Flushing, N.Y. Both IAPA and the Queens DB are financially sound. I am a clinician, a teacher, and a researcher, and I see patients who are on public assistance and who are affluent. As a child psychiatrist, I work with families, which prepares me to resolve conflicts and bring people together. I have a private practice and have firsthand experience of difficulties we all face.

Vote: The leadership of APA must reflect the mosaic that forms our membership. Vote for Experience and Unity in Diversity!

Work: 100%—Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Schneider Children’s Hospital, North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System, New Hyde Park, N.Y.

Income: 100%—North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System; salary based on clinical practice, academic, and administrative effort