The APA Office of Education has recently been "reorganized and enhanced" to improve its ability to respond to the needs of APA members, particularly those centered around career development, according to Deputy Medical Director James Thompson, M.D., who heads that office.

A key element of the reorganization was the division of the Office of Education into three new offices. "We realized that within the old Office of Education, there were several different, but equally important, functions," Thompson told Psychiatric News. "Several of these critical functions have been grouped into the new Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Education, which will focus on issues related to medical students and residents."

Two new staff members have been hired to assist with the office’s mission and new emphases, he pointed out. "For the first time APA will be establishing education-staff liaisons to subspecialty organizations. In addition, along with the Division of Government Relations, APA will increase the attention it pays to legislative affairs that affect medical education," Thompson said.

He added that the new office will also strengthen APA’s relationship with the organization representing psychiatry department chairs and continue its long-standing relationship with the resident and student training directors groups, the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the Residency Review Committee, and other educational groups.

"The office is also going electronic, with plans to put several ‘paper’ functions on the Internet, including the Directory of Residency Training Programs," Thompson pointed out.

The second component of the reorganized education mission is the Office of Career Development and Women’s Programs, headed by Tara McLoughlin.

"Career development is something that concerns each and every APA member," McLoughlin noted. "Through career development we help members acquire skills and expertise that will help them meet their professional goals. We hope to increasingly develop initiatives that meet those needs."

McLoughlin and Sandra Price, of APA’s Office of Member Relations and Marketing, will chair an internal staff group to coordinate career development efforts within the central office.

Among the initiatives McLoughlin’s office is undertaking are a program for early career psychiatrists interested in working in the public sector and a series of leadership workshops planned for APA’s fall meeting, the Institute on Psychiatric Services.

This office also is the focus of women’s programs at APA. "We’re very excited about the potential of this office to develop programs for our women members," McLoughlin stated. "We already have a program—sponsored by Aventis, which was formerly called Hoechst Marion Roussel—to fund the travel of women residents to the annual meeting, and we hope to turn this into a leadership program for women. In addition, we have a mentorship program and a ‘track’ of presentations on women’s issues for next month’s annual meeting, and we are working closely with the Committee on Women to plan still more activities to help women in their careers."

The third office that was carved out of the former Office of Education is the Office of Continuing Medical Education (CME).

"It was a real problem for an organization as large as APA, with as many CME programs as it has, not to have a specific CME office," Thompson said. "We feel that such an office is a key to the growth and development of this important area and is necessary to coordinate our CME programs effectively."

Asked about new CME initiatives, Office of CME Director Kathleen Debenham indicated that the Internet is "a major growth area" for the office’s efforts.

"We hope to develop a CME portion of APA’s Web site, which will offer members a comprehensive set of CME courses," she stated. "In addition, we’re planning to increase our coverage of the two annual meetings and are working to help members maintain their board certification through the recertification exam."

The three offices are part of a new APA Division of Education, Minority, and National Programs, which Thompson heads. Other offices in the division are the Office of Minority/National Affairs, the Office to Coordinate Annual Meetings, the Office of Ethics and Professional Responsibility, and the Office of AIDS Education.
Thompson expects the new divisional structure "to facilitate communication and collaboration between these various offices."

The new division is in the process of hiring an additional psychiatrist to assist in fulfilling its mission.

In announcing the new division and the separation of the Office of Education into three offices, Thompson acknowledged that the reorganization process has not been an easy one. "When there’s change in an organization, it understandably causes anxiety," he stated, "but such change also brings with it the opportunity for positive growth. We’ve had staff turnover and a period in which members may have had trouble accessing us for their educational needs. But we are now fully staffed, with a bright and energetic group of people who are dedicated to helping APA members. I think we’re seeing a new era at APA in education, and I believe members will be pleased with what they see," Thompson concluded.