xxAACP Newsletter, Volume 12,
Number 3, Summer 1998
Board of Directors' Report
A great deal was discussed during the day and a half of the meeting, and a few things were actually accomplished! A brief summary of some highlights of the meeting follows.
Organizational Health:
Them meeting began with some optimistic reports from our Vice
President,
Linda Gochfeld and our outgoing Treasurer, John Wagnitz.
Membership is up by almost 150 compared to the same time last
year, and the goal of 1000 by 2000 appears to be within reach.
Membership reached 577 prior to the start of the meeting with
expectations that several new memberships would be recruited
during the meeting. (A total of 35 members signed up at the AACP
booth in the exposition center, with several others expressing
interest.)
At the same time, many of last year's concerns about the
organization's financial health have been laid to rest for the
short term at least. Corporate contributions have been obtained
(Janssen and
Lilly) which will support
the Newsletter and the Website and which leave our treasury
$16,000 ahead of where it was at this time last year.
A graphic report of the AACP's
financial situation can be seen on page 9. (Online, see
"
Treasurer's Report", this issue.)
Dr. Silver's contribution as liaison to the pharmaceutical
industry was credited for facilitating this recovery. The
journal and sales of
LOCUS software have started to generate some income as well.
Programs
AACP participation in various scientific meetings continues to be strong. Several AACP presentaions were part of the program of the APA this spring, and a full slate is planned for the Institute for Psychiatric Services this fall in Los Angeles. It is now possible for organizations like the AACP to sponsor more than one "official" presentaion at the APA meetings, and this change will increase our visibility. A group of Board Members headed by Don Brown will also be presenting at the Mexican Psychiatric Association meeting this fall in Guadalajara, Mexico. It is hoped that this may provide an opportunity to bring more Mexican Psychiatrists to our organization.
Steve Goldfinger will continue in his role with NAMI at their annual meeting, July 15-19, organizing an AACP presentation and the much appreciated on-site crisis consultation and will be joined by other members from the DC region for this year's meeting.
The Winter Meeting will take place in Birmingham, Alabama on February 4,5 and 6 and is being coordinated by Jackie Feldman.
Plans are also well under way for next
year's APA meeting in Washington, DC with three symposia
being submitted under the aegis of AACP sponsorship. We will
continue to publish AAPC members' presentations in the
newsletter prior to the meetings.
Publications and Website
The
journal officially changed hands beginning with the first
edition of 1998. It now carries the AACP Logo and, as mentioned
earlier, the organization is entitled to royalties on
subscriptions beyond those in the original base. It is hoped
that this will create significant revenue in the future. The
Website (
http://www.communitypsychiatry.org) is currently
operational although not all documents and materials have
been completely loaded. This process is ongoing and has depended
on the generosity of an advertising agency
(Poppe Tyson which has
donated its time
for this purpose. The Website will eventually contain all AACP
documents, the Newsletter, and minutes of the proceedings of
the Board of Directors. The Board expressed its desire to have
this work completed quickly and money has been allocated to
facilitate a more rapid completion of the work.
Ken
Thompson, who has shepherded this process, was also
pegged to take on responsibility for the development of a
listserv capability for the AACP and its committees.
Committees
The committee structure of the AACP has recently proliferated
at a breakneck pace, and the use of e-mail has enabled the
participation of many non-Board members in committee activities.
A revision of the committee listings and the membership was
completed and charters were developed for each committee as
required by the by-laws. Further efforts will be made to allow
members to participate in committee work and these will be
facilitated by the development of listserves to ensure
distribution of relevant materials to all interested members.
Alternative Prescribers
A lengthy discussion took place regarding the use of non-psychiatrists
to prescribe and manage medications. While most attention recently
has focused on psychologists prescribing privileges, there has been
much more experience with graduate trained nurses in these
alternative roles. Although many psychiatrists in underserved areas
have had good relationships and experiences with nurses, this
practice has been controversial. This controversy has not only
centered on whether nurses should have this privilege, but how
(or if) they should be supervised by psychiatry in instances where
they do. Opinion was diverse on this issue, with some members feeling
strongly that the AACP should elaborate a position, while others
felt that it was a political and guild issue falling outside the
mission of the AACP. Further discussion was referred to the
Psychiatric Manpower Committee chaired by Jackie Feldman.
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