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SUSAN L. PADRINO, M.D.
Candidate for MIT Trustee-Elect
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Member-in-Training, 1998; Resident in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, 1999- ; American Medical Women’s Association, Member and Chapter Vice President, 1995-99; Crownpoint, New Mexico, Indian Health Service, 1999; Lawyers, Teachers, and Doctors Against Drugs, 1998; Curriculum Coordinating Committee, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 1996-98; Coordinator of Domestic Violence Workshop for University of Maryland at Baltimore, 1995-97; Clahr Scholarship for Excellence in Leadership, Scholarship, and Community Service, University of Maryland SoM, 1997; Health Care for the Homeless, Chattanooga, Tenn., 1996; Child Advocacy Network (for Victims of Sexual Abuse), 1996; Amherst College, B.A., Magna Cum Laude, History, 1994; Study Abroad, Universidade de Sao Paolo, Brazil, 1993.
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I am a good candidate to represent you as the trustee-elect because of my diversity of experience and my vision of psychiatry in the future. I was born in Spain (where my father studied medicine) and grew up in a Cuban-American family. I went to college in Massachusetts and spent six months studying and learning Portuguese in Brazil. I continued my travels during medical school and residency. From a hospital on the Navajo reservation to a maternity clinic in Guatemala City, I participated in medical environments with unique styles of health care delivery. One experience that influenced me greatly came the summer after my first year of medical school when I worked in the homeless health care clinic of Chattanooga, Tenn. The clinic’s patients had not only their medical but also their psychosocial needs addressed because they had access to internists and nurse practitioners as well as counselors and social workers. The patients received an exceptional level of care because no aspect of their health was neglected. This comprehensive approach to patient care contributed to my choice of a combined residency in psychiatry and internal medicine. My background has prepared me to accept and even welcome the unfamiliar. I am able to approach discussions with a cross-cultural perspective. An open mind and a willingness to listen are qualities essential to members of a board that has the responsibility for voting on issues that will affect many people. Participation of various perspectives is essential to an honest discussion. I have gained a strong respect for the value of differing opinions. As a member-in-training trustee-elect and later a trustee, I will balance my own view with those of the members-in-training whom I represent. I will be available by e-mail to read and respond to your opinions and concerns. Professional issues of primary importance to me include medical ethics and the availability of mental health care. These will be among the most important for psychiatry in the future. I believe APA can be a leader in medical ethics by setting clear guidelines and positions. I support promotion of ethics teaching at the medical school and residency training levels. Psychiatrists are often asked to clarify or make judgments about ethical issues. All members-in-training should feel that they have received adequate training in ethics to be comfortable in this role. Dignified and comprehensive health care should be available to all people. My own vision of psychiatry in the future requires that its practitioners play an integral role in demanding this for people with mental illness. Access for this population is strongly influenced by the continued stigma of mental illness among health practitioners, health insurance providers, communities, families, and individuals. APA has an important role to play in addressing that stigma. As a unified group of care providers to people with mental illness, APA has a unique voice of authority when discussing their needs. Using the experience and diversity of its own members as a resource, APA should explore, discuss, and present practical options for mental health care delivery. As a psychiatrist, it is my responsibility to advocate for adequate health care for the mentally ill. This responsibility spans health insurance, providers’ perceptions of the mentally ill, funding of county mental health clinics, residency education, and many other issues. The challenges that I have discussed are among many that will face psychiatrists in the coming years. I am prepared to dedicate my time and energy to representing the members-in-training of APA. My background is in community service, and I want to serve you in the coming years. I want APA to provide access to representation and support an adequate quality of life during our training. I will promote your interests in Board discussions. I hope you will give me the opportunity by voting for me. Primary Loci of Work and Sources of Income Work: 100%—Duke University Medical Center and associated hospitals and clinics Income:100%—Duke University Medical Center, Departments of Psychiatry and Internal Medicine |
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