By Varun Choudhary MD, MA, DFAPA
Chief Medical Advisor, Behavioral Health
Medical Society of Virginia
The Medical Society of Virginia (MSV) held its 2024 Annual Meeting and Physicians’ Gala October 18–20 in Norfolk, Virginia. This event featured a combination of policy discussions, professional development sessions, and networking opportunities for Virginia’s medical professionals. A key focus was the MSV House of Delegates (HOD), where attendees discussed and voted on resolutions impacting healthcare policy and practice standards in the state.
Educational sessions covered a range of topics relevant to current healthcare challenges, providing insights for physicians to take back to their practices. The event also included the MSV Foundation Gala, a formal gathering that supported the foundation’s initiatives and celebrated contributions to the medical community in Virginia.
Mental health was an area of emphasis for the meeting. MSV had a formal pre-meeting workgroup October 16-19 for a delegation from Poland. This delegation has been a strategic partner and had co-sponsored previous events with the MSV. The main topic of discussion for this workgroup was behavioral health, specifically PTSD & trauma. A team of psychiatrists, both from academic and government arenas, were present along with their corporate sponsor to discuss how they can create a PTSD center of excellence in Warsaw. The war in Ukraine has significantly impacted Poland, as thousands of Ukrainian refugees were welcomed into the country. However, unlike other countries, the refugees were welcomed into Polish homes and there were no refugee camps. Nonetheless, the displacement from their homes due to war and the atrocities faced by the Ukrainians has impacted both countries. MSV invited a select group of medical professionals who could advise and provide guidance based on their expertise. As the Chief Medical Advisor of Behavioral Health for the Medical Society of Virginia, I was honored to participate. The insights shared with the Polish delegation were only the beginning of the partnership, and there will be much more work to be done in the future.
The three educational CME sessions were all centered around behavioral health. On Friday Dr. Bela Sood and I addressed the topic “Behavioral Health: Adopting a Culture of Psychological Safety.” We discussed the principles of MSV’s Safe Haven program that was started a few years ago to address burnout in healthcare professionals. It has now expanded beyond Virginia, and a number of other states are following Virginia’s lead in establishing similar programs. On Saturday, Dr. Sandy Chung addressed “Healing the System by Reimagining Care: A Case Study in Innovation.” Dr. Chung is the medical director of the VMAP, the Virginia Medical Advisory Program, which established a consultative assistance line for pediatricians to assist with behavioral health issues in their patients. Through this program, child & adolescent psychiatrists provide guidance, so pediatricians are able to treat mental health conditions in their population. The details of this collaboration were further discussed in a subsequent session titled: “Mental and Behavioral Health Resources for Clinicians. This session was moderated by MSV’s Ally Singer Wright, and the panelists were Dr. Bela Sood, Dr. Elizabeth Watts, and Dr. Eric Freeman. They discussed integrating mental health resources into primary care settings.
While behavioral health was one of the main topics of discussion at the MSV annual meeting, I was one of only a few psychiatrists at the conference. I implore the members of the Psychiatric Society of Virginia to join MSV and become more actively involved in providing expertise in creating action papers, policies, and legislation. We as behavioral health professionals have a unique opportunity to impact and influence legislation that is currently being implemented in the Commonwealth. Never before has there been such an emphasis and spotlight on the importance of mental health, and Governor Youngkin has made it one of his primary areas of focus for Virginia. The Medical Society of Virginia, an institution that has existed for over two hundred years, is extremely influential in the political and legislative arena. Your participation can make a significant difference in the lives of your patients and the citizens of Virginia.
