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    Theresa M. Miskimen Rivera, M.D.

    Theresa Miskimen

    Candidate for 2024 President-Elect

    A Message from the Candidate

    Candidate Platform

    Read candidates' platforms in the APA Election Guide to the Candidates (.pdf), including:

    • A message from each candidate
    • What is your most important achievement?
    • Where does the profession of psychiatry need to be in five years?
    • Something about yourself that most people don't know

    Biography

    Theresa Miskimen, M.D., serves as Chair and Medical Director of the Department of Psychiatry at Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington, New Jersey. She is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association (APA); active at both regional and national levels in leadership positions including President of the New Jersey Psychiatric Association (2009-2010) and Speaker of the APA Assembly (2017-2018), serving as a member of the APA Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees (2017-2018) and Vice-Chair of the Joint Reference Committee (2016-2017). She chaired the APA Board of Trustees Ad Hoc Workgroup (WG) on Insurance (2019) and contributed to APA Workgroups including the Spanish Language Communications WG (2021), Psychiatrist Well-being and Burnout WG (2017) and lnterprofessional Collaboration WG (2019). She is a member of the American College of Psychiatrists and Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

    Dr. Miskimen centered her public sector clinical practice on improving access and delivery of psychiatric care to bilingual and bicultural communities, developing and implementing intercultural clinical programs, and, most recently, deploying a hybrid model of care during the COVID-pandemic. Her clinical work has informed her research endeavors, resulting in numerous articles and lectures concerning diagnostic challenges and symptom phenomenology when treating racial and ethnically diverse populations, ethical issues affecting psychopharmacological research among ethnic populations, and cultural aspects of patient symptomatology.

    Dr. Miskimen has served in numerous community-facing initiatives and appointed positions under three past Governors of the State of New Jersey addressing mental health issues spanning the intersection of technology and the delivery of psychiatric care, mental health in university settings, and youth suicide prevention.

    She is a past Secretary General of the American Society of Hispanic Psychiatry and was an advisor and presenter to the internationally recognized "Changing Minds, Advancing Mental Health for Hispanics" project. She serves as a Delegate of the APA to the American Medical Association Section Council on Psychiatry and is a member of the Steering Committee to the American Academy of Pediatrics Wellness through Equity and Leadership (WEL) program, tasked to develop a training curriculum and leadership experience for woman physicians, mentor participants, and establish principles on equitable work environments.

    For over 30 years, Dr. Miskimen has brought forth her passion and expertise to critical roles including psychiatric clinical care, patient advocacy, community outreach, academic endeavors, and organizational leadership, and is committed to continuing her contributions in years to come.

    Social Media

    Education

    • Bachelor of Science, Biological Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (1986)
    • Doctor of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus (1990)
    • Psychiatry Residency, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)/Rutgers University (1994)
    • Health Services Research Institute Fellowship, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) (1998)
    • Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), Addiction Psychiatry (1998)

    Awards and Honors

    • Women's Advocate Award, APA Women's Caucus (2018)
    • First Hispanic Speaker of the APA Assembly (2018)
    • Golden Merit Award, New Jersey Psychiatric Association (2013)
    • Appointed by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to the Health Information Technology Commission (2010-2012)
    • Honoree - 7th Annual Shining Lights: Outstanding Leaders, National Resource Center for Hispanic Mental Health (2010)
    • Certificate of special recognition presented by U.S. Senator Robert Menendez for excellence in Hispanic Mental Health Advocacy and Leadership (2010)
    • Appointed to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC), 2-year term, Voting Member (2010)
    • U.S. ARMY Freedom Team Salute Commendation (2009)
    • Appointed by New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine to the Campus Security Task Force, Mental Health Subcommittee (2007)
    • Teaching Excellence Award in Psychiatry, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (2006)
    • Appointed by New Jersey Governor James McGreevey to the Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council (2004)
    • Public Affairs Network Award, American Psychiatric Association (2002)
    • Lester Granet Clinical and Teaching Excellence Award in Psychiatry, New Jersey Medical School (1994)

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