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Because psychiatric medications are complex to manage, I oppose psychologists being certified to prescribe. During medical school, I received 4 years of advanced training in physiology and pharmacology. After medical school, I completed a full year of preliminary internal medicine and an additional 3-year psychiatry residency to further increase my knowledge in managing mental illness. I am certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a process that included written and oral examinations over 2 years after residency to prove my expertise in psychopharmacology, diagnosis, treatment, risk assessment, and psychotherapy. I provide medications and psychotherapy for my patients as indicated. This is the rigorous path most physicians take to becoming a psychiatrist in the United States. One of my biggest concerns about psychologists prescribing is lack of medical training to make a complete differential diagnosis that includes medical causes of a mental disturbance, limited knowledge of drug-drug interactions, and potential to harm patients because of their lack of medical training. For example, a patient taking the blood thinner warfarin may have their ability to clot fatally impaired by a psychotropic drug because of a lack of adequate medical evaluation by a “prescriber” who has limited training in medical management and pharmacology. Another example of the need for medical training to fully evaluate psychiatric patients is an apathetic, depressed patient who continues to be treated with antidepressants while his or her underlying neurologic problem, thyroid condition, or undeclared substance abuse goes undiagnosed.
Lithium is the gold standard medication for bipolar disorder, but if managed incorrectly, without considering the patient’s overall medical condition, drug interactions, and daily physical activities, this drug can lead to kidney failure, coma, brain damage, and death. Many, if not all, psychotropics require ordering and interpreting diagnostic laboratory blood testing before and after initiating treatment to monitor for life-threatening complications, including diabetes and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and changes in white blood cell count, potassium and sodium levels, and ECG data.
Medical education is long and challenging because the human body—especially the mind—is a complex system that requires a great deal of study to comprehend. A physician’s duty is to do no harm; extensive training is the most important tool for preventing unnecessary harm.
Shalini Varma, MDPrivate PracticeKenosha, WIVernon Hills, IL
Because psychiatric medications are complex to manage, I oppose psychologists being certified to prescribe. During medical school, I received 4 years of advanced training in physiology and pharmacology. After medical school, I completed a full year of preliminary internal medicine and an additional 3-year psychiatry residency to further increase my knowledge in managing mental illness. I am certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a process that included written and oral examinations over 2 years after residency to prove my expertise in psychopharmacology, diagnosis, treatment, risk assessment, and psychotherapy. I provide medications and psychotherapy for my patients as indicated. This is the rigorous path most physicians take to becoming a psychiatrist in the United States. One of my biggest concerns about psychologists prescribing is lack of medical training to make a complete differential diagnosis that includes medical causes of a mental disturbance, limited knowledge of drug-drug interactions, and potential to harm patients because of their lack of medical training. For example, a patient taking the blood thinner warfarin may have their ability to clot fatally impaired by a psychotropic drug because of a lack of adequate medical evaluation by a “prescriber” who has limited training in medical management and pharmacology. Another example of the need for medical training to fully evaluate psychiatric patients is an apathetic, depressed patient who continues to be treated with antidepressants while his or her underlying neurologic problem, thyroid condition, or undeclared substance abuse goes undiagnosed.
Lithium is the gold standard medication for bipolar disorder, but if managed incorrectly, without considering the patient’s overall medical condition, drug interactions, and daily physical activities, this drug can lead to kidney failure, coma, brain damage, and death. Many, if not all, psychotropics require ordering and interpreting diagnostic laboratory blood testing before and after initiating treatment to monitor for life-threatening complications, including diabetes and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and changes in white blood cell count, potassium and sodium levels, and ECG data.
Medical education is long and challenging because the human body—especially the mind—is a complex system that requires a great deal of study to comprehend. A physician’s duty is to do no harm; extensive training is the most important tool for preventing unnecessary harm.
Shalini Varma, MDPrivate PracticeKenosha, WIVernon Hills, IL
Because psychiatric medications are complex to manage, I oppose psychologists being certified to prescribe. During medical school, I received 4 years of advanced training in physiology and pharmacology. After medical school, I completed a full year of preliminary internal medicine and an additional 3-year psychiatry residency to further increase my knowledge in managing mental illness. I am certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, a process that included written and oral examinations over 2 years after residency to prove my expertise in psychopharmacology, diagnosis, treatment, risk assessment, and psychotherapy. I provide medications and psychotherapy for my patients as indicated. This is the rigorous path most physicians take to becoming a psychiatrist in the United States. One of my biggest concerns about psychologists prescribing is lack of medical training to make a complete differential diagnosis that includes medical causes of a mental disturbance, limited knowledge of drug-drug interactions, and potential to harm patients because of their lack of medical training. For example, a patient taking the blood thinner warfarin may have their ability to clot fatally impaired by a psychotropic drug because of a lack of adequate medical evaluation by a “prescriber” who has limited training in medical management and pharmacology. Another example of the need for medical training to fully evaluate psychiatric patients is an apathetic, depressed patient who continues to be treated with antidepressants while his or her underlying neurologic problem, thyroid condition, or undeclared substance abuse goes undiagnosed.
Lithium is the gold standard medication for bipolar disorder, but if managed incorrectly, without considering the patient’s overall medical condition, drug interactions, and daily physical activities, this drug can lead to kidney failure, coma, brain damage, and death. Many, if not all, psychotropics require ordering and interpreting diagnostic laboratory blood testing before and after initiating treatment to monitor for life-threatening complications, including diabetes and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, and changes in white blood cell count, potassium and sodium levels, and ECG data.
Medical education is long and challenging because the human body—especially the mind—is a complex system that requires a great deal of study to comprehend. A physician’s duty is to do no harm; extensive training is the most important tool for preventing unnecessary harm.
Shalini Varma, MDPrivate PracticeKenosha, WIVernon Hills, IL