By Sidney Weissman, M.D.
Chair
APA Scientific Program Committee

With the Olympics and the Republican and Democratic conventions still strongly imprinted in our memories, early fall may seem a premature time to talk about APA's 150th annual meeting, which will be held in San Diego May 17 to 22, 1997. Yet the planning for this meeting is now in full swing. Harold Eist's presidential theme "Strengthening Psychiatry's Dedication and Commitment to Compassionate Care, Educational Excellence, and Creative Research" serves as a foundation both to our profession and to the core of this meeting.

In the area of research, numerous presentations will address the excitement of continuing discovery in our field. With 1997 marking the 50th anniversary of the first NIMH grant, a special symposium chaired by Lewis Judd, M.D., is planned to celebrate and highlight NIMH's contributions to the care of our patients. Numerous presentations will highlight and explore the clinical importance of the new generation of antipsychotic medications, which will be approved in the coming months by the Food and Drug Administration. Knowing how to effectively and appropriately use drugs such as Olanzapine and Sertindole will be essential for practitioners, and our 150th annual meeting will be the ideal place to learn.

To help us deal with the complete psychotherapeutic problems of our patients, I have asked the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) to ask each residency director to identify their two most outstanding clinical teachers or supervisors. From this distinguished national faculty we will develop a new clinical consultation program with small-group interactions between clinical faculty and attendees.

To assure the delivery of informed, compassionate care, numerous forums will address responses to managed care and the importance of parity of insurance coverage for the treatment of mental disorders.

In the past five years, our annual meeting has grown to become the premier psychiatric meeting in the world. In New York this year, more than 4,000 international guests attended, which is a tribute to the depth and breadth of our meeting. The meeting in San Diego, the largest American city on an international border, will serve to highlight the growing international prominence of our meeting. Additionally, the location, adjacent to Mexico, offers us an opportunity to explore and experience another culture.

The 1997 annual meeting will also offer us the opportunity to honor one of our own. For more than 20 years, Mel Sabshin has served APA and American and world psychiatry as our medical director. Our 150th meeting will be the last one he will attend in this role. A number of events are planned to honor and celebrate his contributions.

The coming months will give me, the members of the Scientific Program Committee, and the APA staff ample time to fill in the details of the 1997 meeting. But it should be remembered that the program takes place in a city. Many say that San Diego is one of America's prettiest cities, and all agree it has our most favored climate. Unfortunately, not all are aware of its diversity and cultural depth. While everyone knows of its U.S. Navy presence and its world famous zoo and wild animal park, most do not know of its other diverse offerings. To acquaint us with the excitement and vitality of the city is the chair of the San Diego Local Arrangements Committee, Rod Munoz, M.D., who is also an APA vice president. Rod's vitality, coupled with the energy and enthusiasm of the committee, assures us of an expanded awareness of San Diego and an exciting time for members and their families at the meeting. The San Diego meeting is a time where we can make new friends and reconnect with old ones.

More than any other APA program, the annual meeting is the crown jewel and the central creative act of all APA members. If you have any suggestions of how we can make it still better, please write me at APA.

See you in San Diego.

Nos vemos en San Diego.

(Psychiatric News, October 18, 1996)