By Sherin Moideen, MD
PSV Immediate Past President
It was my pleasure to serve as the President of Psychiatric Society of Virginia this past year (2021-2022). I would like to thank the PSV board of directors and membership for their support. I have concluded that PSV truly believes in uplifting and encouraging its members. PSV strives to nurture an environment of collegiality. When we were forced to hold our conferences virtually, we missed the warm presence of our colleagues. Hence this past year, many of us eagerly attended the in-person conferences and enjoyed seeing our colleagues in person.
I would like to take this opportunity to urge PSV members to remain active in PSV and advocate for our profession and our patients. I would like to mention a few committees to encourage participation.
Dr. Badr Ratnakaran is now the chair of PSV’s Early Career Psychiatrist Committee. More than half of the psychiatrists in the US are nearing retirement and therefore it is pertinent that young psychiatrists stay involved to help shape their future. Please reach out to Dr. Ratnakaran to join the committee. We have several private practice psychiatrists among us and if you are interested in joining a private practice committee, please reach out to Andrew Mann, PSV Association Manager, at [email protected].
We hope to provide useful resources to those who are newly starting out in their practice and be a source of support to our seasoned private practice psychiatrists. Lastly, advocacy can happen long before the next general assembly session. It is important to talk to elected representatives about scope of practice, prior authorization reform, and mental health parity issues all year.
In a previous newsletter, I briefly discussed APA’s collaborative care model as a potential solution to help address the shortage of psychiatrists in Virginia. If we are considering legislation that can improve psychiatric care, the advocacy efforts should start now. PSV has a legislative committee and if you would like to bring a legislative issue to our attention, please email one of us or PSV Association Manager Andrew Mann. The Medical Society of Virginia often seeks suggestions from state specialty societies, and we work together with MSV on several issues. Please consider joining MSV as well to increase our voice in MSV and to stay up to date and active in legislative and policy issues in Virginia.
I would like to conclude by welcoming Dr. Kara Beatty as our current PSV President, Dr. Albert Arias as our new president elect, Dr. Jessica Mees-Campbell as our new member at large and Dr. Kishore Nagaraja as the resident representative. Dr. Ajay Kuchibhatlia and Dr. Karl Northwall will continue as secretary and treasurer this year. PSV members are invited to the board of director’s meetings and can always bring matters of concern to our attention. Your participation is vital to our effectiveness.
As I reflect on the year, I am happy to note that the strength of PSV comes from its dedicated members who selflessly volunteer their time for the betterment of our patients, our practice, future psychiatrists, and our community.
