Federal News & Issues

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 17, 2021 – Yesterday, eight people, including many women of Asian descent, were shot dead at spas in Georgia. During the COVID-19 pandemic, inflammatory language and violent acts have placed the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities and businesses at risk. While authorities are still investigating the motive, it comes at a time when anti-Asian American racism has swelled in the United States. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued the following statements.

“This year has seen a significant increase in racism and xenophobia against Asian Americans, and it is unacceptable and harmful,” said APA President Jeffrey Geller, M.D., M.P.H. “This unspeakable tragedy can cause further fear for the AAPI community, which has endured so much already. We send our condolences to the victims’...

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 1, 2021 – Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) leaders in academic medicine are subject to increasing expectations with limited resources and there is an urgent need for psychiatry departments to commit to fully supporting their efforts, according to an article now available in the American Journal of Psychiatry written by top DEI leaders in academic psychiatry from across the country.

The authors, representing prominent public and private institutions, include Ayana Jordan, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University, and current APA ECP Trustee-at-Large; Ruth S. Shim, M.D., M.P.H. University of California, Davis; Carolyn I. Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University; Eraka Bath, M.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Jean-Marie Alves-Bradford, M.D., Columbia University; Lisa Eyler, Ph.D., University of...