In the waning days of the Illinois regular legislative session, the Illinois Psychological Association RxP bill passed the House by a vote of 94-21 and unanimously passed the Senate, in a concurrence vote, 57-0. The bill will now be sent to Governor Pat Quinn. This is a major accomplishment for Beth Rom-Rymer and her IPA team, who were successful in obtaining the support of the Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nursing and the American Nurses Association-Illinois, andwere able to change the stance of the Illinois Psychiatric Society and the Illinois Medical Society from "oppose" to "neutral." Elaine LeVine, who was instrumental in the passage of the New Mexico RxP legislation: "It is amazing! RxP in the state with the third largest city in the U.S. We are all so appreciative, Beth, of your skills and dedication to helping our profession grow in this very valuable way. What a difference this can make to the budding generation of psychologists, and all psychologists will profit from the increased esteem this will bring to the profession. Another very important gain is that in this state, with a vast number of physicians and psychiatrists, which houses the AMA, the medical consensus now is that psychologists can be trained to prescribe without going to medical or nursing school. Ten years without passing RxP legislation is a frightening long time, and our opponents have argued in many states that have recently attempted RxP bills that the dearth of passage of new laws is evidence that the passage in New Mexico and Louisiana were anomalies and not a good idea."
Long time APA State Association guru Mike Sullivan: "The last time an RxP law was enacted was Louisiana's in 2004, and I was still at APA. Although that came just two exciting years after Elaine and Mario Marquez led the way in New Mexico, it was years in the doing. Louisiana's Jim Quillin used to say: 'If we don't quit, we win.' He was right – Persistence is the name of the game. It takes savvy leadership and a huge commitment of resources. Beth and her IPA team are to be commended for persisting with their vision over the long haul and making it a reality! With this historic vote, 10% of the state legislatures have now passed psychology RxP bills. This is no anomaly. This is a movement for better health care. Integrating psychology and medicine more closely through RxP gives consumers better treatment options. Paradoxically, it also reduces reliance on pills as panaceas because of psychology's behavioral expertise." Now if only our colleagues in Indiana (1993) and Guam (1998) would implement their already enacted legislation – they have already accomplished the most difficult part…. Ultimate success requires vision, persistence, collaborative efforts with stakeholders in the community; and most of all, dedicated commitment by those who genuinely care.
On June 17th, 1994 then APA President-elect Bob Resnick attended the graduation ceremonies of Navy Commander John Sexton and Lieutenant Commander Morgan Sammons at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center as they became the first graduates of the Department of Defense Psychopharmacology training program. Psychology has come a long way. Aloha,
Pat DeLeon, former APA President – Division 31 – June, 2014
