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APA's strategic planning process is rapidly moving toward its goal of developing a blueprint that the Association can use to increase its effectiveness and its responsiveness to members and others concerned about mental illnesses and the people who suffer from them.
With vision, mission, and values statements in hand to guide its deliberations and help APA reach specific goals (Psychiatric News, January 2), the Task Force on Strategic Planning is now focused on developing a detailed description of what psychiatrists expect from APA in return for their membership dues-and how APA must change the way it operates to better respond to members' needs.
A primary component of this phase of the project is recommending initiatives that will enhance the way APA recruits new members and retains psychiatrists who have already joined.
A major step in this comprehensive planning process was the March 17 meeting in Washington, D.C., at which a special work group of the task force was expected to concentrate on these membership issues. Former Assembly Speaker R. Dale Walker, M.D., chair of the Task Force on Strategic Planning, said that he planned to present recommendations on this and other aspects of the strategic planning process to the Board of Trustees at its July meeting.
Walker emphasized in an interview with Psychiatric News earlier this month that he selected the subgroup's members to ensure that they represent all the age groups and "special populations" of which the Association is composed. He was very mindful, he said, of the task force's need to hear the often diverse concerns of those populations and of psychiatrists at different stages in their careers.
One issue on this group's agenda is whether a dues accommodation should be made for couples in which both spouses are psychiatrists and APA members, Walker noted. Already in place is a streamlined process for minimizing the sometimes vexing procedure members and district branch staff have had to endure when a member transfers from one district branch to another.
Another strategic planning work group is assessing the structure and effectiveness of APA's governance system, including steps the APA central office should institute to improve its relationship with district branches and state psychiatric organizations. That subgroup is meeting next on April 18 and 19.
A third work group is developing recommendations for strengthening APA's involvement in external areas such as education, public policymaking, research, and outreach to the general public.
A work group whose charge is to develop a set of priorities for APA, chaired by Medical Director Steven M. Mirin, M.D., also has begun deliberating and will continue to develop and refine its recommendations throughout the year. The aim of this phase of the strategic planning process is to formulate a priority list of initiatives and goals that will provide APA with a framework to use in allotting its funds.
Walker is encouraging members who have suggestions to enhance the strategic planning process to forward them to the task force's staff liaison, Claudia Hart, at APA, 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Va. 22209-3901; phone: (202) 682-6091; e-mail: chart@psych.org.