Let's Call them Patients
Two very informative articles in the July/August Monitor looked at psychologists treating those individuals managing "the trauma of infertility" and psychologists "coping with challenging clients." Both articles described treating "clients." In the era of the "Patient Protection Act" and with psychology's historical, ongoing and increasing involvement in integrated, interprofessional, team-based health care, I think it is time that we routinely refer to those individuals we treat as "patients." Our colleagues across the spectrum of health-care disciplines, and those psychologists who routinely practice in hospitals, health science centers and clinics, see their work as "patient-centered," which is defined as providing care that is respectful of, and responsive to, individual patient preferences, needs and values, with patient values guiding all clinical decisions. I think that it is time we agree to use language consistent with today's quality health care so that psychologists of today, and our next generation(s), are truly integrated into modern patient care.
Ronald H. Rozensky, PhD
University of Florida
"Retiring a psychologist's license"
I was more than pleased to read the article on dementia and wanted to raise a related issue that I have been struggling with in my role as a licensing board defense attorney in California. To date, I have represented two senior psychologists whose patients/clients filed licensing board complaints regarding behavior that, by proper examination, was related to dementia. In both cases, my clients' licenses were revoked, and the Board of Psychology posted detailed descriptions of the behavior that resulted in the complaints on its website. In my view, when a colleague becomes demented and agrees to a proper evaluation that documents the disorder, that colleague's license would properly be "retired" and no detailed description of his or her behavior should be posted. Colleagues facing these circumstances would still be vulnerable to civil actions by patients/clients who believe they were harmed by the colleague, but for licensing boards to sentence colleagues with sterling careers to have their demented behaviors described in detail in accusations against them is cruel. My project in California is to convince the licensing boards of demented colleagues to "retire" their licenses, but not to list the behaviors that resulted in their retirement for public consumption. None of us deserves that kind of legacy.
A. Steven Frankel, PhD, JD
Occidental, California
Please send letters to APA Monitor on Psychology Editor Sara Martin at smartin@apa.org. Letters should be limited to 175 words and may be edited for space and clarity.