Candidates for APA Council representative

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Meet the candidates for Div. 54 APA Council representative.

Kimberly Driscoll, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine where she specializes in the assessment and treatment of children with diabetes. Kimberly serves as the associate director of the Florida State University Psychology Clinic where she provides administrative oversight and supervises clinical psychology graduate students. She also sees children and their families in a private practice setting. Kimberly’s primary research interests involve adherence to medical treatment regimens, with a focus on using technology to optimize adherence and health outcomes in type 1 diabetes. She received an NIH K23 Career Development Award aimed at providing longitudinal intervention to improve insulin pump adherence among adolescents. She has been an active member of APA since graduate school. She helped to co-establish the Diabetes SIG in Div. 54 with Susana Patton PhD. In addition, she served a three-year term as a member of the Div. 38 (Health Psychology) Research Council.

 

Candidate Statement

Thank you for your consideration as the next APA Council representative for Div. 54. I am an early career psychologist who successfully balances direct clinical care of patients with a patient-oriented program of research that occurs in private practice pediatricians’ offices; therefore, I have a unique perspective about the needs of pediatric psychologists. In addition, I understand and appreciate the challenges that my mentors have encountered, and learned first hand about APA governance (and politics) from my colleagues. Pediatric psychologists face many challenges as 21 st century health care continues to evolve, and I believe that I possess several characteristics that will serve Div. 54 well if I am elected as your APA Council representative, including effective listening and communication skills, being a team player, and understanding both the clinical and research aspects of our field, which are essential to advancing the mission of Div. 54. Again, thank you for your consideration.

Ann E. Kazak, PhD, is co-director of the Nemours Center for Healthcare Delivery Science and Professor of Pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University and at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the current historian of the Society of Pediatric Psychology (SPP) and served as president in 2006. Kazak is a former editor of the Journal of Pediatric Psychology and of the Journal of Family Psychology and the current editor-in-chief of Health Psychology. She received the Nicholas and Dorothy Cummings American Psychological Foundation PSYCHE Award in recognition of her work facilitating integrated care. 

 

Kazak received her AB from Smith College, her PhD from the University of Virginia and interned at Yale University School of Medicine. She started her career as faculty in the clinical psychology program at Temple University and spent 26 years at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she held a number of positions, including director of psychosocial services in oncology and director of the Department of Psychology.

 

Candidate Statement

Pediatric psychologists have much to contribute at this time of change and uncertainty in health care. We are well-versed in the issues related to collaborative and integrated care. Our research addresses clinically relevant questions and the translation of our science to practice is ingrained in our training and practice settings. Pediatric psychologists also hold important leadership positions. It is essential that our voices continue to be heard in broader APA communities. Although SPP has grown and is a financially viable entity with a distinct identity, we have much to gain from ongoing advocacy and collaboration with our colleagues from other fields of psychology and must continue to seek ways of building and expanding these connections.

I would be honored to serve SPP as council representative. I have served in other capacities at APA, including co-chair of the Task Force on the Patient-Centered Medical Home and chair of the Task Force on Evidence Based Care for Children and Adolescents. I am well prepared to advocate for SPP. In doing so I will be guided by my ongoing commitment to understanding how children and families cope and adjust to medically demanding situations and maintain their health and wellbeing. As a profession we need to grow our research evidence base, translate it to clinical care, and mentor and support future generations of psychologists. Thank you for your consideration.