NYAPATI R. RAO, MD, MS, CHAIRMAN OF DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES AT THE NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, ELECTED CHAIR OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES SECTION GOVERNING COUNCIL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2010
PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055
NYAPATI R. RAO, MD, MS, CHAIRMAN OF DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES AT THE NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, ELECTED CHAIR OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES SECTION GOVERNING COUNCIL
East Meadow, NY….Arthur A. Gianelli, President/EO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, announced that Nyapati R. Rao, MD, MS, chairman of the department of psychiatry & behavioral sciences at the Nassau University Medical Center and professor of clinical psychiatry at SUNY Downstate, and adjunct professor at Stony Brook was elected chair of the American Medical Association (AMA)’s International Medical Graduates (IMG) Section Governing Council, in recognition of his distinguished contributions to IMG issues.
“We are very proud of Dr. Rao’s accomplishments and congratulate him on his election as chair of the AMA’s IMG Section Governing Council. It is a very well deserved honor and we are confident that he will represent the 33,000 IMG members with his usual commitment to excellence,” said Gianelli.
The International Medical Graduates Section represents and promotes the interests of physicians who graduated from medical schools outside of the United States or Canada. Thirty-three thousand members strong, all AMA members who are IMGs, are automatically members of the AMA-IMG Section. The AMA IMG Section – handles direct responsibilities for the IMG Section Governing Council and is the principal contact for 33,000 IMG members of the Association. The IMG Section also fields many inquiries from unlicensed IMGs seeking entry into U.S. graduates medical education. The mission of the American Medical Association is to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health.
In accepting the role as chair of the AMA’s IMG Section Governing Council, Dr. Rao said “It is an honor and privilege to have been elected by the members of this very prestigious organization. We are at a critical juncture in American medicine as a result of the passage of the Healthcare Reform and the overhaul of physician workforce. IMGs, having played an extremely important role in our nations care of the underserved, do not want to be marginalized in the current debate. I am grateful to the IMG-GC for giving me this leadership role at this time. I am very appreciative of Mr. Gianelli and Dr. Walerstein, as well as my colleagues in the department for their encouragement and support for my work at various organizations. Steven J. Walerstein, MD, FACP, NHCC senior vice president for medical affairs and medical director, praised Dr. Rao for his involvement and dedication to national professional organizational work: “We are proud that Dr. Rao will represent our institution well as an accomplished leader in his field,” concluded Dr. Walerstein.
Dr. Rao came to NUMC from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he was Director of Psychiatric Residency Training and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry. After graduating from Kurnool Medical College in India, Dr. Rao completed his residency training in psychiatry at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center and obtained a Masters of Science from the Robert Wagner School of Public Service at New York University. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology with added qualifications in geriatric psychiatry. He is the author of several papers concerning psychiatry education, and his work in improving the education of international medical graduates is recognized nationally. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, member of the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, and the American College of Psychiatrists. Dr. Rao was the recipient of the George Tarjan Award from the American Psychiatric Association and the Educator of the Year award by the Association for Academic Psychiatry. His interests lie in cultural psychiatry, psychiatric workforce issues, and quality of clinical care
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