Sure, there are lots of ways for psychiatrists to earn their continuing medical education credits today, and many of these ways are undeniably convenient and inexpensive. So why is it necessary to attend an out-of-town meeting that entails travel and hotel expenses?

If you pose that question to Sidney Weissman, M.D., the chair of APA's Scientific Program Committee for the 1997 annual meeting in San Diego, he will tell you unequivocally: "There is no substitute for attending APAs annual meeting. It is the only avenue for psychiatrists from all over the United States to meet formally and_just as important_informally with their colleagues to address the many issues on their minds today."

At a time when the field faces great challenges imposed by decreasing resources, unreasonable managed care, and constraints on education and research, psychiatrists need to take advantage of the year's best opportunity to exchange ideas and personal experience as well as to interact with psychiatry's leaders and most respected analysts. Through this kind of interaction, said Weissman, psychiatrists can provide support to one another while offering input on how the profession can adapt to the changing practice environment.

"APA's annual meeting is a unique place to address these issues," said Weissman. "It's the one place where the different generations of psychiatrists_from residents to long-established private practitioners_can come together and address these issues from their particular perspective. The annual meeting can bring about a synthesis of age and experience to reshape psychiatry that is not possible in other forums."

Weissman added that the annual meeting is one of the APA's three major avenues of communication with its members. "The other two are Psychiatric News and the American Journal of Psychiatry. But only the annual meeting offers face-to-face interaction."

Weissman encourages all APA members to make every effort to attend the 1997 annual meeting and show their commitment not only to their professional organization but to the future of psychiatric care. "The stakes have never been higher," he said.

(Psychiatric News, November 1, 1996)