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| Official Registration:
| | 27
Charles Darwin str., Sofia, municipality Izgrev,
Bulgaria
| | Postal Address:
Post Box 1040, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria | |
tel:+359
2 988 40 85; fax:+359 2 981 81 66
E
mail:
executive.committee@bpa-bg.org |
INTRODUCTION
The Bulgarian Psychiatric Association (BPA) was founded in
1992 in response to the need to do away with the image of psychiatry as an
agency for control over the mental life of the individuals. Main goals of the
BPA, as stated in its
Statutes and By-laws,
are: i/ To reach the common preserving differences in the name of purity
and the prestige of the profession, for the welfare of its members and the
society; ii/ To assist in improving the mental health and psychiatric care in
Bulgaria; iii/ To forward the independent and full of dignity practice of the
psychiatric profession; iv/ To foster and demand high professional standards in
the curative, educational, research, and other professional activity; v/ To
advance the principles of international organizations such as UN, its
specialized bodies, the WMA, the WPA, concerning human rights, medical ethics
and the standards of the psychiatric profession.
ORGANIZATION
Main governing body is the General Assembly, held yearly, and
consisting of delegates from all regional organizations (20) on quorum
principle. The members of the BPA are 304
psychiatrists. The General Assembly elects the members of the other
governing bodies:
Board of Trustees, Executive Board (President, President - Elect, Immediate Past
- President, Secretary, and Treasurer), Control Committee, and Ethical
Committee. Currently, in the Executive Board are: President Dr.
Peter Marinov, President-Elect Dr. Temenujka Mateva,
Immediate Past-President Prof. Vladimir Velinov, Ph.D., Secretary Dr
Nadya Ivanova, Treasurer Dr
Vladimir Nakov.
PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES
Annual Conferences
are held regularly, as well as, in cooperation with other organizations,
regional meetings and/or conferences. A programme for continuous medical
education for psychiatrists with credits from educational courses and workshops
at these meetings, has recently started. The BPA collaborates in the field of
education with the University departments of psychiatry, and experts from BPA
are the main promoters in updating the curriculum for medical students and the
programme for post-graduate training in psychiatry, especially in the Medical
University in Sofia. The BPA does rarely so far generate own scientific
activities but often serves as an institutional base for scientific projects in
the mental health field. Ethical activities are, from its foundation, among the
priorities of the BPA. A basic book with international instruments on medical
and psychiatric ethics was published in Bulgarian in 1994. As an expression of
the ongoing efforts of the BPA to improve the ethical standards of our
profession, an as a reminder to this, the Hawaii Declaration (up to 1996), and
the Madrid Declaration (from 1996 on) of the WPA are routinely published on the
last page of every issue of the Bulletin of the BPA. New and updated
international documents concerning ethical problems in psychiatry are regularly
translated into Bulgarian and disseminated. Patients’ rights’ concerns are
fundamental for the ongoing psychiatric reform in Bulgaria, and discussions on
this issue are common topics at the Annual Conferences, and among our members.
PUBLICATIONS AND OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION
The
Bulletin of the BPA
is the official periodical of the BPA, and a main means for communication
among the psychiatrists in the country. It is published in 4 issues per year.
The
Publication Programme of the BPA succeeds in
translation, editing, and publishing some 4-5 books yearly, usually basic,
internationally recognized manuals for mental health professionals, including
nurses, social workers, and psychologists.
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