ABSTRACT
Academic psychologists' backgrounds may prepare them for many aspects of academic administration such as: understanding and working with people; prioritizing others' needs and institutional needs; and managing projects and budgets, e.g., for research grants or training programs. Contemporary academic health centers also may provide opportunities for psychologists to serve in academic health administration. This article encourages psychologists to consider preparing for and seeking administrative and higher-level leadership roles. Six psychologists serving diverse administrative roles-from vice chairs in medical school departments to presidents of universities with academic health centers-reflected on: their paths to administration; their preparation for administrative roles; and the commonalities and differences between the work and skills sets of psychologist health service providers and the work and skill sets required for higher level administrative and leadership roles.
Subject(s)
Academic Medical Centers/organization & administration , Leadership , Psychology/organization & administration , HumansABSTRACT
Psychologists have made important contributions in academic health centers (AHC), but the reputation of psychology as a discipline has been mixed, by turns viewed as a superfluous soft science, or seen as an important contributor to the AHC mission. AHCs currently face exceptional challenges to the viability of AHCs, including: planned alterations from fee-for-service to value-based funding that requires high quality at lower cost; and rising demands to demonstrate competence in trainees. Now more than ever, psychologists can and must help AHCs to meet these challenges.
Subject(s)
Academic Medical Centers , Psychology , Quality of Health Care , Humans , United StatesABSTRACT
The APA Ethical Code struggles to offer guidance in the rapidly changing field of clinical health psychology. Professional challenges anticipated in the next decade are described, and their implications for ethical practice examined. This paper is based in part on a presentation at the 2009 Conference at the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers held in St. Louis, Missouri.
Subject(s)
Psychology, Clinical/ethics , Psychology, Clinical/trends , Academic Medical Centers , Codes of Ethics , Humans , Physician's Role , Societies, Scientific , United StatesABSTRACT
While the field of psychosocial oncology has been recognized for several decades, specialized psychosocial services to West Virginians with cancer have been limited. Considering the increase in the incidence of cancer and the recognized burden of cancer-related emotional distress, healthcare providers must screen for emotional distress as the sixth vital sign, and develop an array of evidence based interventions and services for patients with cancer and their families along the cancer trajectory.
