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 Feedback about the Program

A message from Patrick DeLeon
Messages from current students
A message from Stanley Moldawsky

The following is from a column by Patrick H. DeLeon, former president of the American Psychological Association, published in the August 18, 2000 issue of the APA Division 18 newsletter:

RxP Training Modules: Also at the convention, the Assistant Secretary for Health and U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, responding to an audience question regarding prescriptive authority, replied: "I'm not sure I know all the issues involved in that, but my basic position is that the privileges should be consistent with the training. So I think clearly if we can demonstrate that psychologists have the training to prescribe, then they should be allowed to prescribe." Former DoD Fellow Anita Brown has been working closely with Robert McGrath of the School of Psychology at Fairleigh Dickinson University to ensure that those practitioners in the field who are personally interested in obtaining prescriptive authority will have ready access to a high quality, user-friendly program. Anita's innovative postdoctoral training module utilizes a forward thinking and integrated approach to psychophannacology education. The curriculum incorporates progressive learning methods from schools of medicine, nursing, and related prescribing professions and will definitely meet the specific educational requirements proposed by APA's model training curriculum.

... Anita's efforts are targeted towards the working professional, providing distance learning university-based education, without requiring attendance at traditional, campus-based classrooms.

There will be 10 eight-week courses consisting of:

  • A sequence of four core courses providing the basic science foundation and knowledge base in pathophysiology, neuroscience, health assessment, and pharmacology for clinical applications.
  • A comprehensive clinical pharmacology course presenting the major classes of drugs.
  • A professional issues course addressing the legal and ethical considerations and related "standard of care" topics.
  • A series of four treatment courses addressing specific categories of mental disorder and the related psychopharmacological issues, will conclude the didactic portion of the program. There will also be a supervised Clinical Practicum Elective, providing the opportunity of applying one's newly acquired knowledge under the guidance of a preceptor in the practitioner's local community.

    • Additional highlights of Anita's program include: A state-of-the-art distance learning delivery system providing:
  • Internet-enabled curriculum and coursework, with online discussion groups, message boards, and e-mail between faculty and students.
  • Videotaped presentations and textbooks, providing the latest information from national experts.
  • The Compass Learning SystemTM includes mentor-professors hosting online sessions and monitoring the discussion boards to guide the busy practitioner through the program.
  • Information packed manuals and documentation allowing instant integration of the course work into one's professional practice.
  • One weekend Regional Interaction Meeting per course to focus on meaningful case discussions, presentations, and health assessments with mentor-professors and a small group of student colleagues.

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    The following is from an e-mail from Nancy Funk, a Maryland psychologist and current student in the program:

    Now that I have finished the first course, I wanted to take a minute to thank you and the staff for this psychopharmacology program. The other students also deserve a lot of credit for how good this experience is turning out to be for me.

    The material is very challenging, but also very interesting. I think that the structure it's presented in is great for people who are also working full time as practitioners. I am able to fit my study for the class in pockets of free time through the week. Sometimes the free times vary, but in this course, that is all right; ther flexibility is essential for somebody likeme whose schedule may vary from week to week. I do lug our (heavy) texts around with me to read when I have some open time; the resulting increase in muscle strength and development in my arms is a benefit I never expected from the course.

    I do like the texts a great deal. They are awesomely large and incredibly complexly written. At first I thought I would spend most of my time looking up every other word, but I soon found that the texts themselves explained the concepts. I also actually like the Directed Study Questions; they do take a long time to answer. They help me to think about the text materials, to work it over in mind and understand how it connects. For example, the immune and inflammatory responses are very complex; the study questions help to organize the material on them.

    I also like the chat hours each week. The other students are impressively stimulating and insightful. They also seem like a nice bunch of people and I am looking forward to seeing them in December at the interaction weekend.

    I feel much more a sense of connection and community in this course than I felt in many of my graduate classes, to my surprise. I had wondered if doing a distance learning course would seem isolated, but that has not been the case at all. I think the chats help, of course, but so do the discussion boards. Every kind of question can be brought up on them and a variety of helpful responses are quickly posted.

    Finally, I have been really pleased with the instructors. They are very competent and I am awed by the grasp of the material that they have. I am also awed and grateful for the time they take with us. I must have sent Dr Tackett 12 (yes you know me by now) e-mails about various of the test questions, not the ones I got wrong necessarily, but several of the others, as well. He is quick to respond and always so far has seemed able to sort out my confusion about these complicated topics. Evelyn [the group facilitator, a nurse practitioner] has taken the time, twice, to do a literature search in response to my questions and has sent lengthy and helpful e-mails back with the results.

    In the program I feel as if I am learning a whole new way of thinking that is different from but connected to what I have been doing as a psychologist so far. Already this class has helped me clinically. I have begun to understand how much more profoundly than I realized my clients are affected by their medicines, psychoactive and otherwise, and by the physical diseases they have or have had.

    I do really like the program; I hope it flourishes.

    The following was submitted by Marlin Hoover, a member of the first graduating class:

    I have been asked to describe my experience as a student in the Fairleigh Dickinson University psychopharmacology program, and am happy to do so. My experience as a student in this program has been quite positive and I would like to encourage others to pursue advanced training in clinical psychopharacology through this program and others like it.

    Like many clinical psychologists, I am motivated in my work by three factors: empathy, efficacy, and curiosity. My empathy for the pain and suffering of my patients has been one of the disquieting aspects of my work for many years, and a desire to see people suffer less has been one of my primary concerns. Additionally, I crave effectiveness, and have always sought ways to intervene more effectively as a clinician. Finally, as a collaborator with physicians, I have always been curious about the choice of and mechanisms of action of the psychoactive medications which many of my patients have taken, and I have been even more curious when they have seemed either highly effective, or ineffective. Additionally, I have always been curious about the interplay among biological, psychological, and social functioning. All three of these major motivators have led me to seek increased expertise in psychopharmacology in order to understand and assist my patients, and to enhance my own understanding of human behavior.

    I selected the FDU program for several reasons. First, I had several opportunities to meet and attend presentations made by the original Prescribing Psychologists trained by the Department of Defense. Of these original psychologist prescribers, Dr. Anita Brown developed a curriculum which utilized the American Psychological Association's recommended curriculum as well as her own considerable experience. This curriculum is the backbone of the FDU program. I found Dr. Brown's thoughtful style to be quite inspirational, and she impressed me as someone whose expertise I could trust. In short, because she's been there and thought long and hard about the education needed for a psychologist to prescribe safely, I felt I could trust the curriculum she developed.

    A second reason I selected the FDU program was that I wanted to participate in a program that is offered by an accredited university. I have been quite pleased that the FDU program has converted our curriculum to qualify it as a Master's degree. Although I think that anyone taking the curriculum would be impressed with its rigor, it is important that a fair and objective outsider be comfortable with the quality of the program as it is legislators who must make the judgement that the public will be well and safely served by permitting psychologists trained through the program to prescribe. Having the program be a postdoctoral master's degree gives the training provided by the program its just due -- a fair acknowledgement of the quality of the education it provides.

    A third reason I selected the FDU program is that it combines hands on supervised training in physical assessment and those essential aspects of a "medical education" necessary to prescribe safely with video taped lectures which can be watched over and over as well as weekly discussions with class members focused on diagnosis and treatment of physical and psychological disorders. Additionally, the course makes use of the Internet as a resource on a solid basis of text books which are "state of the art" medical and psychiatric texts. The assignments reinforce learning as do the "quizzes."

    Finally, I selected the FDU program because I thought it provided the maximum amount of education in a form that was still doable. I have found that, with my active clinical practice, and the coinciding presidency of the Illinois Psychological Association I am extremely busy. At times, the instructors have been flexible with me in arranging deadlines around my other meetings and commitments. However, for the most part, the work has just barely fit in to my schedule so I could stay on track. Although there have been many times when a football game or other distraction would have been fun to watch, I have always found the information obtained to be exciting and enjoyable.

    Finally, I started in the FDU program now because I guessed that the knowledge I would gain would enhance my practice whether or not prescriptive authority for psychologists in my state would become a reality soon. I am pleased to report that from the beginning I have had questions answered which I have had for years. The educational experience has been edifying and has assisted me in understanding and helping my patients more effectively, and enhanced my ability to communicate with physician colleagues as we collaborate.

    In sum, I am very pleased with the education and experience I have gained through the FDU Postdoctoral Masters in Clinical Psychopharmacology program.

    The following was submitted by Gilbert Sanders, another member of the first graduating class:

    The FDU training is solid and well based in research. I like the extended format that allows for distance learning yet provides the opportunity for face-to-face interchange. With the recent events in NM, I hope that you see an increase in interest and enrollment. I know that the class has made me a better provider. I can and do engage with physicians concerning medications, they feel that I understand not only the psychological aspects of the case but the medications and underlying medical aspects as well. I still rely on my skills of psychotherapy and group process in working with my patients, yet I now have a most valuable tool in my tool box that helps my patients and those of other disciplines with whom I interact with on a regular basis.

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    The following is from an evaluation of the program written by Stanley Moldawsky, former chair of the APA Board of Professional Affairs and former member of the APA Board of Directors:

    The APA Recommended Postdoctoral Training in Psychopharmacology for Prescription Privileges
    (approved by APA Council August 1996) calls for 300 hours of didactic course work. This program exceeds that minimum by 150 hours and includes all the courses thought to be fundamental.

    The latest technology is revolutionizing our academic institutions and although face to face learning experiences might still be the preferred way, distance learning has become a respectable alternative. This is especially so for those who already have earned their doctorates.

    In all respects I find the proposal presented by the Psychology Department of FDU, Teaneck-Hackensack Campus to be sound, innovative using the latest teaching devices (video) plus seminars. I recommend that the proposal be accepted. I also want to add my congratulations to the Department of Psychology for their vision and dedication.

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