Career, Leadership, and Mentorship Development: Making it Our Priority

Hello to all the residents and early career psychiatrists!!! The annual APA meeting proves itself year after year to be the prime place for young psychiatrists to learn how the APA can be a vital resource for your growth as a physician. I speak personally from experience attending the annual meeting as a medical student, through residency, and now as an early career psychiatrist practicing out of Washington DC. Not only are the educational sessions unmatched, but the networking opportunities are profound. It is at our annual meeting that we connect with colleagues from across generations and from across the world to learn about the practice of psychiatry from a variety of perspective.

I encourage all of you to join the APA if you are not already a member. In addition, I strongly urge all of you residents and early career psychiatrists to get involved with the APA at the local level through your "district branch," your local APA organization. It is at the local level that you will be exposed to a variety of opportunities for leadership roles and mentorship possibilities. And it is at the local level where we better understand how we can have more of an impact in our field and for our patients. My involvement with the APA locally and nationally and my attendance at the annual meetings has fueled my career and my passion for psychiatry tremendously.

I hope to see you all in Hawaii for APA 2011!!!

Hind Benjelloun
Area 3 Early-career Psychiatrist Representative