APA’s 51st Institute on Psychiatric Services continued to draw the majority of its attendees from the APA membership, who reaffirmed the value of the institute as a small, clinically focused, interdisciplinary meeting.

The institute was held October 29 through November 2, 2000, in New Orleans and attracted the third largest number of registrants for an institute.

According to information provided by Kathleen Debenham, M.A., director of APA’s Office of Continuing Medical Education, more than half the registrants—54 percent—were APA members, continuing a five-year trend of APA members making up the majority of those attending. In addition to affirming the value of a small, clinically oriented, interdisciplinary meeting, those attending enjoyed the benefits of APA’s close collaboration with the Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association. The district branch helped those who came to last year’s meeting capitalize on local resources for faculty, recreation, and additional promotion.

Total attendance at the institute was 1,648, higher than that at the 1998 meeting in Los Angeles, but lower than that for the 1997 meeting in Washington, D.C. The theme of the institute was "Integrating Research Advances With Clinical Wisdom."

Thirteen continuing medical education (CME) courses were presented at the institute, with overall attendance high and evaluations consistently positive. The industry-supported symposia, whose number was increased from 16 in 1998 to 18 in 2000, were well attended and evaluated positively.

Registrants continue to say, as in past years, that their highest priority is learning about clinical issues. More than 65 percent of those surveyed indicated they would attend the 52nd Institute on Psychiatric Services this fall in Chicago.

APA added a question to the 2000 evaluation asking whether the participant’s practice changed as a result of knowledge obtained at the meeting, and if so, how it had changed. That preliminary effort will be followed up by a mailing asking similar questions. The initial survey found that 383 of the 464 who answered the question believed that the effectiveness of their practice would be enhanced by attendance at the institute. Seventeen said they specifically planned to change their practice as a result, while another 11 said they would consider doing so but needed more information.

The institute’s continued use of high-technology conveniences was well received; in particular, the use of touchscreen terminals in the computerized evaluation center was highly productive and, according to those who did the evaluations, very user friendly. As access to technology has grown, so has the proportion of registrants using computers, rather than printed forms, to complete the survey. Whereas in 1998 56 percent of registrants completed the survey on computer, that figure has jumped to 65 percent in 2000.