Call for Applications for RFM Trustee-Elect: An Opportunity to Influence Our Field

The first Board of Trustees Meeting for this year was held July 11 and 12 in Washington, D.C., with President Renée Binder, M.D., presiding. In this forum, I will share one small example that demonstrates how residents and fellows are empowered at the Board level. I hope this story will inspire you to get involved with APA and consider running for the resident-fellow member trustee-elect (RFMT-elect) position.

The APA Board consists of 20 voting members, one of which is the RFMT, and one of which is the early career psychiatrist (ECP) trustee. In addition, four other RFMs sit on the Board as nonvoting members, including the RFMT-elect (Stella Cai, M.D.) and the chairs of the three APA fellowships: the Diversity Fellowship chair (Uchenna Achebe, M.D.), the Leadership Fellowship president (Misty Richards, M.D.), and the Public Psychiatry Fellowship chair (Raj Loungani, M.D.).

Together, that means that six RFM-ECP psychiatrists sit at each Board meeting, creating an incredible opportunity for younger psychiatrists to help steer APA in the right direction for the future of our profession. With that structure as background, I want to update you on one recent issue that highlights the Board’s readiness to listen and react to the needs of those who represent our field’s future.

The Board has to consider many action items for review in any given meeting. Among these, the Budget and Finance Committee had recommended an increase in nonmember RFM registration fees by $30 for IPS: The Mental Health Services Conference. Full disclosure: I am a member of the Budget and Finance Committee. The goal of this increased registration fee was to incentivize residents and fellows to sign up for membership of APA.

At the Board meeting, I brought up the fact that many residents and fellows are unsure whether they are able to attend meetings until the last minute. As such, they may want to register late and may not be able to take advantage of the member discount. The administration explained that there was a rebate program through which residents who sign up for membership at the time of registering for a meeting could later fill out a rebate form to get reimbursed for the added expense of registering as a nonmember. I pointed out that this rebate program was barely used last year and that the rebate program, while theoretically a good solution, remained, practically speaking, an inaccessible one.

The other RFMs and ECP present voiced their agreement. Here is where I was most impressed by the Board. Many other senior psychiatrists and Board members voiced their opinion that this policy was unnecessarily burdensome for busy residents who were unlikely to fill out time-consuming rebate forms. The Board at large felt that most residents who sign up are likely to be approved, and it therefore makes sense to give them the benefit of the doubt at the time of registration by giving them discounted member rates. As a result, the Board passed an amendment to the action to increase IPS rates, stating that RFMs who sign up for membership at the time of meeting registration should be given the discounted member rate.

This is a small example of how RFMs and ECPs can influence policy at the Board level, and it also demonstrates how open minded and eager the Board is to listen to the ideas and opinions of our profession’s youngest leaders. I am truly inspired by all of my colleagues on the Board and hope you will consider adding your voice to APA! Any trainee who will be in residency or fellowship training for the duration of the two years of the position is eligible to apply for the RFMT-elect position by the deadline of October 1. More information can be accessed here. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions! ■