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NYAPATI RAO, MD, MS, CHAIR OF THE PSYCHIATRY AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT AT NUMC TO BE AWARDED 2009 GEORGE TARJAN AWARD BY THE AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION, IN RECOGNITION OF HIS SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO ADVOCACY OF INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL GRADUATES AND THE ENHANCEMENT OF THE INTEGRATION OF THE IMG INTO AMERICAN PSYCHIATRY

November 13, 2008

Contact:  Shelley Lotenberg
(516) 572-6055
shelley@numc.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

PRESTIGIOUS AWARD ACKNOWLEDGES INNOVATIVE AND EXEMPLARY PSYCHIATRIC EDUCATOR WITH IMPRESSIVE CREDENTIALS WHO SERVES AS AN ENERGECTIC AND EFFECTIVE LEADER AND SPOKESPERSON ON BEHALF OF IMG CONCERNS

East Meadow, New York….Nyapati Rao, MD, Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Nassau University Medical Center, and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, SUNY-Downstate, will be awarded the prestigious 2009 George Tarjan Award by the American Psychiatric Association at their annual meeting in San Francisco, California in May 2009, for his innovative leadership, his national reputation in psychiatric education and for his significant contributions to advocacy of International Medical Graduates (IMG). Dr. Rao received notification of his award in a letter dated November 5, 2008 and signed by the President of the American Psychiatric Association, Nada Stotland, MD, who stated: “Upon recommendation of the Committee on International Medical Graduates and the endorsement of the Board of Trustees, I am honored to inform you that you have been selected to receive the George Tarjan Award and to deliver the associated lecture. On behalf of the APA, we extend our sincerest congratulations and appreciation for your many contributions and accomplishments”

In congratulating Dr. Rao on this prestigious and well-deserved award, Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the Nassau Health Care Corporation (NHCC) said:  “Congratulations on this well-deserved and prestigious award, demonstrating that NUMC has practitioners that rival those of the best hospitals in the country.  To be awarded the 2009 George Tarjan Award by the American Psychiatric Association reflects so well on your commitment to mentoring outstanding international medical graduates in psychiatric training programs and on your contributions to advocacy for IMG.”

Dr. Rao was delighted to receive notification of his 2009 George Tarjan Award:  “I am humbled and gratified that I have been chosen to receive this award.  To be recognized for one’s efforts by one’s peers is the greatest reward anyone can receive and I am grateful to have been able to make a contribution to the professional development and mainstreaming of international medical graduates in American psychiatry.”
             
The American Psychiatric Association is an organization of psychiatrists working together to ensure humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental illness, including substance use disorders. The mission of the American Psychiatric Association is to promote the highest quality care for individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders and their families; promote psychiatric education and research; advance and represent the profession of psychiatry; and serve the professional needs of its membership.  The George Tarjan Award, established in 1992, is in honor of George Tarjan, who was the first international medical graduate to be elected president of the American Psychiatric Association.

Steven Walerstein, MD, Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs and Medical Director at the NHCC also congratulated Dr. Rao on his accomplishments by stating:  “This prestigious award,  is given to an outstanding psychiatric educator in recognition of excellence in psychiatric education  and scholarly pursuits with significant impact, especially to an educator committed to advocacy on behalf of IMG.  The George Tarjan Award acknowledges innovative and exemplary psychiatric educators who are committed to helping IMG obtain the necessary skills to succeed in American medicine.”

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, Chair of Committee on IMG at Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, and a Member of the American College of Psychiatrists. Dr. Rao is also a Senior Examiner of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and an Associate Editor of the American Psychiatric Publishing Incorporated.  He has chaired the Council on Medical Education for the American Psychiatric Association, as well as various committees in other national professional organizations.  His interests lie in cultural psychiatry, psychiatric workforce issues, and quality of clinical care. Dr. Rao developed the mentorship program for outstanding IMG in psychiatric training programs at the American Association for Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training. In addition, he developed and organized the IMG Institute to teach the IMG the necessary skills to succeed in residency training.