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With psychiatrists from countries other than the U.S. and Canada registering in ever-greater numbers at APA's annual meeting, the Association has decided it's time to try to capitalize on their interest in APA and American psychiatry by recruiting them for membership.
To accomplish this, the Board of Trustees voted in December 1996 in favor of adding a membership category specifically for international psychiatrists. Since the addition required amendments to APA's Constitution and Bylaws on which APA members must vote, the measure was placed on the next available ballot, the ballot for the 1998 election. When the votes were tallied last month, the amendment had passed overwhelming, garnering 93 percent of eligible votes cast.
Prior to the Board's 1996 decision to endorse the new category, the APA Membership Committee had conducted a survey of 12 medical associations and found that all of them offer an international membership category. Their annual dues for such members ranged from $20 to $425, with six setting annual dues between $100 and $175. The associations usually offered a package of member benefits similar to that for their U.S. members, though a few offered only discounted publication charges, reduced meeting fees, or special newsletters.
Prior to the recent vote, psychiatrists who received psychiatry training in countries other than the U.S. or Canada could join APA only as corresponding members. The dues that international members will be assessed to join APA will be determined by the Board later this month after it reviews recommendations from the Budget Committee.
When the Membership Committee questioned corresponding members about their interest in continuing their APA membership as international members, which would entitle them to more member benefits but require paying yearly dues, a sizable majority (71 percent) answered that they would "definitely join" or "probably join" if an international member category was available.
The majority of corresponding members answering the survey indicated that they would be comfortable with annual dues of $125. The potential member benefit they cited as most appealing was a discounted rate for a subscription to the American Journal of Psychiatry.
Psychiatrists will be eligible to join under the new designation if they have successfully completed a psychiatry residency program, provide a recommendation from one current APA member, and live outside the jurisdiction of an APA district branch.
All current APA corresponding members and fellows would, if they join the Association under the international member category, be eligible to convert their corresponding status into the appropriate APA membership or fellowship category.
The APA Membership Committee, chaired by Bernard Katz, M.D., has developed a roster of benefits that it hopes will make membership an irresistible option for international psychiatrists. These benefits include reduced registration fees for APA annual meetings so that they would pay what U.S. members do, reduced prices for APA journal subscriptions, a complimentary newsletter written specifically for international members, member prices on APA products such as the membership directory and DSM-IV, and each year an APA membership card and certificate.
"Our international colleagues have asked for the opportunity to participate more fully in APA, and we have responded to their request," Katz told Psychiatric News.
"But this is just the start," he added. "We envision even greater opportunities for international members to gather valuable information from other APA members and to increase their communication with those members. We hope to take advantage of new technologies such as e-mail, list serves, and faxes, which are dramatically enhancing the ability of all of us to be a contributing part of the worldwide psychiatric community."