APA’s Institute to Feature Special Track for ECPs

To address the career development needs of early career psychiatrists (ECPs), APA is featuring five special leadership sessions at the fall Institute on Psychiatric Services in Chicago. Topics for these sessions include acculturation for international medical graduates (IMGs), media training, ECP leadership, transitioning from residency to early career, and building a career in community psychiatry.

The first session, “Acculturation of International Medical Graduates,” led by Nalini Juthani, M.D., Albert Gaw, M.D., and Evgenia Aronova, M.D., will help IMGs face the challenges in their personal, professional, and family lives. Presenters from Indian, Asian, and Russian backgrounds will describe their experiences of how physicians from different cultures learn to thrive within American culture. Topics such as the physician-patient relationship, verbal and nonverbal communication, learning the U.S. medical care system, and developing leadership and networking skills will be discussed.

“Making the Media Work for You” will be the topic of Saturday morning’s workshop, led by Nada Stotland, M.D. Stotland noted that the goal of this interactive workshop is to alleviate the stress of television interviews by teaching basic media skills. “This workshop will teach you how to conduct a successful interview, from handling stress to positioning in front of the camera or interviewer. You will come away with the skills you need to teach the public about psychiatry; to show them the accessible, honest, caring, and knowledgeable professionals that we are; and how to have a good time doing it.”

Learning how to excel as a leader is another crucial skill for ECPs. During the third session, “Leadership Workshop for ECPs,” Inikhab Ahmad, M.D., Timothy Florence, M.D., and Brenda Hines, M.D., will draw on their experiences as leaders in their field and as ECP leaders in the APIRE/Janssen Public Policy Program. The participants will discuss why they chose a career in public psychiatry. Special interests of the presenters include public policy, rural psychiatry, and innovative treatment of the homeless mentally ill.

“The Other Side of the Mountain: From Residency to Reality,” led by Stephen Goldfinger, M.D., Deborah Hales, M.D., and Ronald Albucher, M.D., is always one of the most popular sessions for residents and ECPs. The transition from resident to ECP is a challenge all psychiatrists will face. Trainees in every program learn the basics of clinical psychiatry; however, many programs address only peripherally, or not at all, how to translate this training into practice. This interactive discussion between ECPs and senior professionals will explore how training programs have and have not met young professionals’ needs and how young doctors can best acquire the vital skills to prepare them for the challenges in their first few years out of residency.

The series will wrap up on Saturday afternoon with “The Unwritten Rules for Success as a Community Psychiatrist,” led by Charles Huffine, M.D., Sue Bailey, M.D., and Scott McCormick, M.D. Negotiating a job in a publicly funded clinic or finding a role in a community-based treatment setting can be daunting. Psychiatrists may be offered jobs with only a narrow scope of duties, often limited to diagnosis and medication management. These three psychiatrists, who have found fulfilling careers in community practice, will share their principles and methods for forging a successful community practice. Each presenter is in a different stage of his or her career, and each has a very different type of practice, ranging from urban to rural and focusing on children and adolescent to adults and older adults.

“I’m pleased to participate in one of the career development sessions,” said Hales, director of the APA Division of Education, Minority, and National Programs. “There is always a lively dialogue between the audience and panelists, and among the panelists as well. It is wonderful opportunity to share personal experience and answer individual, as well as broader, questions about finishing training. We hope ECPs will take full advantage of all the career development sessions. These sessions offer an opportunity to get practical advice, as well as personal strategies for early career psychiatrists.”

Participation in each workshop is limited to 35 attendees. More information is available from Tara McLoughlin at [email protected] or (202) 682-6171. ▪