A welcome outcome of my years of membership in the Society was the mentoring, and friendship of Dr. Martin Kassell, who passed away this summer of natural causes at the age of 102.  Trained by a pupil of Freud in the 1940s, and long retired himself from active practice, Dr Kassell was a constant fixture at the monthly Executive Council meeting of Arizona Psychiatric Society, volunteering time towards advocacy, up until earlier this year when the COVID-19 Pandemic grounded us all. Dr Kassell listened attentively and spoke carefully. He had a trove chest full of interesting anecdotes of psychotherapy stories to share always. Dr. Kassell showed by example, until the very end of his long and illustrious life and career, the importance of always staying connected with and mentoring fellow psychiatrists. The meshed iron door to his Arcadia home was always open to all willing to be mentored, where his black rescue dog Jake nestled protectively by his feet, as Dr. Kassell, physically frail at times but always mentally sharp, sitting in his brown leather lazy boy, recounted slowly but assuredly his zillions of stories with patients, and all the subtle nuances of his discourse with his patients, whether it be as a Medical Director at the Jefferson Jail or State Hospital or sometimes recounting a real life encounter with a patient in private practice, they were for me, pure and simple, invaluable pearls of psychotherapy. In reflecting on a recent visit with Dr. Kassell, Dr. Jack Potts shared "We talked of his legacy and the gift of teaching and mentoring that he had given to many generations. I think he is quite likely most proud of having been involved in the professional development of behavioral health technicians, nurses, social workers, counselors, psychologists, and physicians. Reaffirming his impact on patients and peers gave him He knew he was loved and would be remembered." 

 

As our traditional opportunities to engage in person are suspended during this pandemic, I have been thankful to be able to call or text a peer, have a curbside consultation, or connect for a general well-being check, to break the cycle of isolation.  As we advise the same for our patients, I hope that we all are able to find time to make those connections ourselves or to be that connection for a peer. 

 

Coming full circle, great congratulations to our graduating residents and fellows and welcome to the practice of psychiatry!  May you find fulfillment, connection, and a legacy of making a difference to your patients and peers in your career years ahead. Remember that learning in psychiatry is a lifelong  possibility beyond residency and fellowship. Your membership with the society is an avenue to journey on, towards that goal.  I hope to see you all (in a virtual way) at our Annual Meeting, and in the meantime, if you are interested in being a mentor, or would like to be connected with a mentor, please reach out to me or to Teri. 

 

Stay well and stay connected,

 

Don J. Fowls, MD, President, Arizona Psychiatric Society, Invites You to the 2020 Annual Meeting (From Video):  Good afternoon, this is Don Fowls, President of the Arizona Psychiatric Society, and I hope you and your families are safe and well during the pandemic and also staying cool during our summer heat here. I'd like to take this opportunity to invite you to our Annual Meeting for the Arizona Psychiatric Society, which will take place virtually on October 3rd [education session]. It is definitely a new format, but we've learned a lot from some other organizations on how to make this fun and engaging and worth your time. We have a stellar cast of speakers that includes [Dr.] Joe Parks from the National Council of Behavioral Health in DC, [Dr.] Lloyd Sederer, formerly of New York State as the Chief Medical Officer of Behavioral Health and a prolific writer, [Dr.] Shawn Sidhu from UCSD, and [Dr.] Rahn Bailey from Charles Drew School of Medicine in Los Angeles. We have some key updates on parity. We had a lot of success over the past year in getting a bill passed in the legislature, but there is more work that needs to be done there. And we've also undertaken a strategic planning process to help position the Psychiatric Society to become even stronger and thrive in the future. This is a very important meeting; we really do hope you can attend. There are a number of issues that are facing us as psychiatrists, we certainly mentioned parity, there is always the psychologists who want to prescribe and many others, and we are all working hard to address these and figure out the best ways to proactively respond. But we really need your input, your support, your good ideas, and thoughts, and really do hope you can attend October 3rd. We hope to see you there, and in the meantime, please do stay safe, healthy, and by all means, cool as well. Thanks a lot.

On behalf of Dr. James Clark, Chair of the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) of the State of Arizona, we are sharing this information regarding an upcoming opening on PSRB; CLICK HERE for more information on the PSRB's responsibilities and this opportunity to fill an upcoming vacancy for a psychiatrist on the Board.  If you are able to contribute this service to the PSRB, please contact Dr. James Clark, the Chair of the PSRB, directly, by telephone call to 602-301-8806  If you know of a psychiatric peer in the community who might be interested and a good fit for this position, please feel free to share this information.  

The Arizona Medical Association (ArMA) Distinguished Service Award recognizes those individuals and organizations that have gone above and beyond in their profession, making a significant impact on the community.  View the acceptance video from Dr. Ole Thiehaus, Medical Director at the Whole Health Clinic, for more information.  

2020 Arizona Medical Association Distinguished Service Healthcare Award