Mina Hah, MD
CCPS President

“Please wear your face covering over your nose and mouth. We are all in this together.”  I heard this announcement at a grocery store recently and thought to myself that was a good reminder for everyone that in a public health pandemic everyone’s actions matter and working together as a group is crucial for the health of everyone. This idea made me think about organized psychiatry and how so many psychiatrists still are not a part of organized psychiatry and opt out of membership of the APA or other organized psychiatric groups. I don’t know if this is a part of our make up since psychiatrists do seem to be a very diverse group made up of different backgrounds and reasons why we picked this field as our specialty. However, in today’s environment of corporate medicine and the loss of physician power and autonomy, it is crucial that we physicians band together in organized medicine, however imperfect these organizations are.  I appreciate your membership and believe that in order to protect the health of our patients, who are the most vulnerable in society, and to ensure psychiatrists continue to lead mental health care in our nation, it is imperative for us to work together and commit to organized psychiatry in order to fight the influences in society that try to impede the best mental health care for our patients. Please don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If we can be better advocates for our patients and for our profession and make your membership work better for you, please don’t hesitate to let us know these suggestions. Thank you!