APA's Fall Meetings: Not Business as Usual

Psychiatrists are skilled at handling patients in crisis, but it's clear that they are also skilled in handling crises in which they find themselves.

At around 7 a.m. on a warm September morning, when about 275 APA members were in Washington, D.C., for APA's September Components Meeting at the JW Marriott, the fire alarm sounded. In this post-9/11 world, no one questioned whether it was real or not and quickly evacuated the building (see Fire Can't Deter Members From APA Committee Work).

Amid the chaos, APA's meetings staff wasted no time in rescheduling the meetings at nearby facilities, such as the Willard Hotel and Ronald Reagan Building, and spreading the word to members. Later that day, when it was announced that the JW Marriott would be closed, APA's meetings staff made arrangements for the remainder of the meetings and a number of members to move to the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. The members continued their work as though nothing had happened. At the plenary session the next day, both APA President Nada Stotland, M.D., and APA Medical Director James H. Scully Jr., M.D., praised members for not only their willingness but eagerness to continue their work despite the personal discomfort they were experiencing. ▪