I am both a patient and a provider of UC San Diego Health. In a political environment where we already have our federal government attacking science, academia, and mental health, we should not have to be fighting back against our own psychiatry department and health system. Advocating for ourselves, our colleagues, and our patients is another job on top of the already difficult work of being a healthcare provider and someone managing their health.
It is important that the community know that the new UCSD Psychiatry policy impacts more than maternal mental health— it affects all of UCSD Psychiatry, where there are vulnerable patients across many specialty clinics and providers who are dedicated to serve them. The new policy will more than push excellent providers out of their jobs and force patients to change providers on short notice after being vulnerable and building connections with them. There will be trickle down effects with trainees losing access to specialized training (e.g., by training with Drs. Brar and Reminick) to build access to more mental health providers that the community needs. It will also make it harder to recruit providers, especially those who have caregiving responsibilities, health problems, or other reasons that require them to work less than 0.8 FTE. Leadership may counter by saying that they are expanding access to care. It is important to ask, “at what cost?” Even if UCSD hires more providers or continues growing, it does not justify enacting this policy and forcing dedicated clinicians out of their jobs. It is does not take graduate or medical school training to recognize that such a policy would impact working caregivers, especially women. UCSD Health needs to stop enacting shortsighted policies without provider, patient, and community input.
— Anonymous