Special Tracks Invite You to Customize Your Meeting

Go for the razzle dazzle. Go for the pizza. Go for the jazz poetry. But most of all, go for APA's Institute on Psychiatric Services, which is being held in—you guessed it—Chicago from October 2 to 5.

As chair of the institute's Scientific Program Committee, I want to extend an invitation for you to join us at APA's smaller, more intimate meeting. The beautiful (and newly renovated) Palmer House Hilton will serve as the backdrop for what is shaping up to be the best psychiatric meeting of the year, with CME credits and CEUs available for many disciplines (physicians, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and counselors).

Following our theme of “From Patient to Partner: Transforming Systems of Care,” we have fashioned an incredible program. Just to give you a taste of the curriculum: a debate between proponents for single-payer medicine versus the AMA's point of view; lectures, workshops, and symposia covering a broad range of topics sure to answer your clinical questions; a Recovery Celebration to interface with consumers; an APA-community outreach to offer clinical updates by renowned scientific leaders; a new format called“ Practical Pearls” with leading clinicians ready to discuss those things that throw us for a loop in our day-to-day practice—for example, how to publish a paper, how to prepare for court, what to do if the media call, how to teach public psychiatry, DBT and CBT with patients who are psychotic—and poster sessions that will knock your socks off! Child psychiatry? Got it covered (adolescents will be coming in to tell how they want to be treated). Advocacy? Come on down. Psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery models? They're here!

Tracks have been designed to meet the needs of members-in-training (starting with the Lilly Chief Residents Leadership Track, ending with presentations by APA/Bristol-Myers Squibb Fellows). On Saturday morning, October 4, the “Career Counseling and Career Development” forum will allow residents, early career psychiatrists, and anyone who's thinking about changing the course of their career to meet one on one with national experts in public psychiatry. The Health Services Research track is planned, APA's OMNA (Office of Minority and National Affairs) on Tour will offer an innovative curriculum and a community depression education event, and the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists has designed a full-day track. On Saturday evening, there will be a “Conversations” event sponsored by the American Psychiatric Foundation.

On Sunday, October 5, there will be a full-day training session titled“ Working With Homeless Mentally Ill Individuals.”

Our local representatives assure us that Chicago is easy to get to and is breathtaking in the fall. The area around the meeting will be replete with music, concerts, sports, shopping, and museums, and upon arrival you will get a “Best of Chicago Synopsis (like pizza and jazz) to get you started. With all this, and more, how can you resist? Come on! Learn, network, play, and earn CME credits and CEUs. I'll see you there. ▪