2011 Annual Meeting in Hawaii

Wow! This meeting is flying along and we are already starting to think about 2011. The 2011 Scientific Program Committee had conference calls prior to this meeting, and the APA staff have been planning the upcoming meeting, particularly over the last year! Chair Dr. Tana Grady-Weliky will take the lead and work closely with incoming President Carol Bernstein, M.D., the Committee, the APA Office of Education and APA staff. Dr. Grady is a busy clinician with an interest in women’s health and she is a lifetime medical and psychiatric educator. Based on feedback from 2010, we can make some changes in logistics that “surround” our annual meeting, but I thought hearing about some of Dr. Bernstein’s plans from the 2010 Opening Ceremony might be helpful.

The theme is “Transforming Mental Health Through Leadership, Discovery and Collaboration.” One key theme will be thinking about leadership initiatives, models and programs that foster the development of the next generation of psychiatrists. Dr. Bernstein, also a lifelong medical and psychiatric educator, has gained input from MITs and believes we need to think about generational differences related to their education—we can expect some excellent presentations and discussions on this! Another theme will be scientific discovery, building on this year’s programming in which APA President Alan Schatzberg and Dr. Julio Lucinio encouraged our best researchers to translate findings for clinical practice. We will again invite many of the best scientists in the world. A third theme will emphasize collaborations with patients, families, community organizations, the medical community and allied mental health groups. We want you to think of our annual meeting as the place to meet a broad range of educational needs!

Clearly, a back drop to the program will be health care reform and parity legislation, which will help increase access and reduce discrimination toward patients. We figure to have updates on current events nationally and sessions for members to digest the information, apply it to clinical practice and provide input on their experiences.

Get your planning started for 2011 submissions now and we will see you in Hawaii!!

Don Hilty, MD

Co-Chair, 2010 Scientific Program Committe
Vice-Chair, 2011 Scientific Program Committee