Why psychologist should not prescribe medication

There is some controversy about whether psychologists should be able to prescribe medication or not. According to Psychologytoday , only five states have allowed clinical psychologists to prescribe medication rather than just psychiatrists. I think if someone is going to be able to prescribe a drug they need to understand all the effects of it and that requires medical school rather than what they are proposing which are learning seminars or classes for licensure.

Psychiatrists can spend over 14 years in college which equates to upwards of , hours preparing for their job. Psychologists spend nearly 20, hours less, needing around , for their degree. While both dedicate time and hard work, psychiatrists need to go to medical school which gives them more responsibilities.

According to Verywellmind , patients often have to wait a long time for appointments with psychiatrists because of there being a shortage of psychiatrists in many states. Allowing psychologists to prescribe medication would allow patients to get the mental health resources they need even faster.

Psychologists being able to prescribe medicine would benefit lower-income families with getting the treatment and medication they need at a lower price. Dayana Najarro is a freshman. She loves to play volleyball. Her favorite subjects include history and English. Outside of school, she likes to go on walks Before the New Mexico bill was passed, there were about psychiatrists in the state, LeVine said.

In the last 10 years, about 30 psychologists have completed the education to prescribe, a number of whom live in small towns. Many more psychologists have completed the training, but their states have yet to pass laws giving them prescribing rights, Ragusea said. Others argue that psychologists do not know enough about the human body or medical diagnoses to be able to prescribe psychiatric drugs.

By the time psychiatrists have completed medical school and a four-year residency, they have logged more than 10, hours of training, said Dr. In contrast, prescribing psychologists receive about hours of psychopharmacology training, Rone said.

In addition, psychologists have little, if any, experience diagnosing illnesses such as epilepsy and cancer that can produce psychiatric symptoms, said Dr. Jeremy Lazarus, president of the American Medical Association. Psychologists counter that, in the 10 years they have been prescribing, there has not been one complaint to state licensing boards or word of a negative incident, Ragusea said. And a review of prescribing psychologists in the military found that, while psychiatrists involved in the training initially had reservations about the idea, many rated the care of the prescribing psychologists as good to excellent, according to a report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness NAMI.

Professional psychologists gained prescribing privileges in New Mexico in and in Louisiana in In , Illinois became the third state to grant prescribing powers to psychologists who hold appropriate training. Iowa granted prescriptive authority to psychologists in , and Idaho followed suit in In such cases, psychologists are required to receive proper training and are permitted to prescribe certain medicines used in the treatment of mental disorders.

What kind of training is needed? In Louisiana, for example, psychologists who want to gain prescribing powers must complete a postdoctoral master's degree in clinical psychopharmacology, pass a board-recognized national exam, and hold a certificate of responsibility from the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. Psychologists are not the only non-physicians who have been granted prescribing rights. Advanced psychiatric nurses generally have prescriptive authority, although their powers may be limited depending on which state they are in.

Supporters of prescribing rights for psychologists include the National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers and Division 55 of the American Psychological Association.

Advocates suggest that psychologists should be allowed to write prescriptions for a number of different reasons. Organizations against offering prescribing rights to psychologists include the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

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Monitor on Psychology. American Psychological Association. Idaho becomes fifth state to allow psychologists to prescribe medications. Published April 5, APA Services. About Prescribing Psychologists. Published June