FIG1 Psychiatry Resident
(PGY-2), University of Louisville School of Medicine, 2004-
Resident Member, Department of Psychiatry Recruitment Committee, 2004-
University of Louisville School of Medicine, 1998-2002
Elected President, University of Louisville Chapter of the National
Wilderness Medical Society, 2000-01
Elected Student Representative, Kentucky Medical Association, 1998-99
Juris Doctorate, Cum Laude, Indiana University School of Law, 1992
The American Psychiatric Association is known as the "voice and
conscience of modern psychiatry." It is the single most important forum
for psychiatrists to work on the issues facing our profession's future and
mental health issues nationally and globally. I would be honored to be elected
your APA member-in-training trustee, because I want to be an intricate part of
shaping that future.
As William James said, you can truly know a person when you find what makes
him or her feel most "intensely active and alive." Accordingly,
you will find that I am a fierce and passionate advocate, not only for my
patients, but also when I have the opportunity and challenge to make a greater
impact. My interest in public-policy issues started in undergraduate school,
where my major was an interdisciplinary study in economics, political science,
and sociology. In my senior thesis, I studied the causes of homelessness, and
I was awarded a public-policy scholarship to the National Governors
Association conference that year. I have experience serving in organizations
at the national, state, and local levels. During medical school, I helped
establish the student chapter of the national Wilderness Medical Society; I
was elected the student representative to the Kentucky Medical Association by
my medical school class; and for four years I was a member of the Board of
Trustees of YMCA Camp Piomingo, where I chaired the Program Committee.
Being an active community member and advocate has always been important to
me. During law school I volunteered as a student attorney in the Community
Legal Clinic for indigent clients and worked to obtain protective orders for
abused women. As an attorney, I practiced at the Legal Aid Society, again
representing indigent clients. A significant portion of my caseload consisted
of appeals of government-benefit denials in the Medicaid/Medicare arena,
through which I experienced firsthand the immense difficulty patients have
obtaining access to health care and coverage. During medical school, I
volunteered for a year with the Jefferson County Medical Society's Healing
Place, a medical and social outreach program for those with alcohol and drug
addiction, many of whom were homeless. There I observed how devastating
substance abuse can be mentally, physically, and socioeconomically, and how
limited community resources are. After completing internship in internal
medicine, I saw the light and joined psychiatry. Working as a resident in both
fields has impressed upon me the disparity between reimbursement and
federal/state support for the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness versus
physical illness.
As the MIT trustee, I would strive to be the eyes, ears, and voice of
psychiatry residents across the country. I would work with the Board of
Trustees as an advocate for residents on all issues. However, I think the
issues of particular importance are:
As the MIT trustee, I offer diverse education, background, and life
experience. I have the intellect, the drive, and the ability to represent you
well. But most importantly, I have the compassion, the interest, and the heart
to be a strong and effective voice on behalf of all residents for shaping the
future of our profession.
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Professional Activities
100%—Residency training, affiliated hospitals and clinics of the
University of Louisville School of Medicine, department of psychiatry and
behavioral sciences
100%—Resident salary, University of Louisville School of Medicine,
department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences