In January Deborah J. Hales, M.D., will join the APA staff in the new position of director of education and career development. She will also serve as associate director of the Division of Education, Minority, and National Programs.

Hales, of Menlo Park, Calif., will have primary responsibility for the Office of Graduate and Undergraduate Education and the Office of Career Development and Women’s Programs.

James W. Thompson, M.D., director of the Division of Education, Minority, and National Programs, stated that Hales will be a vital addition to the APA staff.

"There are a great many liaison activities important in psychiatric education, and Dr. Hales will be a key person in this work," Thompson said. "In addition, we have a new Office of Career Development and Women’s Programs, which is in the process of developing several projects, and we’re looking forward to her creativity and energy in those endeavors as well."

APA Medical Director Steven M. Mirin, M.D., also expressed his satisfaction with Hales’s appointment. "We were most impressed with her credentials in education and her ability to bring people together," he stated.

Hales, who has extensive experience as a psychiatric educator and residency training director, chairs the APA Committee on Graduate Medical Education and is associate editor of the Psychiatric Residents in Training Exam (PRITE). She has also served on the Executive Council of the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT). In addition, Hales is board certified in both psychiatry and pediatrics.