For Residents and Fellows

The APA has numerous resources designed for you!  These include fellowships, research awards, competitions, networking, leadership opportunities, vacant residency spots and loan forgiveness programs.  In addition, the annual APA meeting has a track specifically geared for residents and fellows.

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Dear Current and Future Leaders of Psychiatry:

It is an exciting time for our profession. While new innovations in diagnosing and treatment continue to expand our field, organized psychiatry has made great strides in providing a voice for our colleagues, advocating for our patients and ensuring our profession’s continued growth. Despite the recent fiscal crisis and challenges that lie ahead, organized psychiatry is active and thriving in San Diego County.

The San Diego Psychiatric Society (SDPS) is the primary local professional organization and the district branch of the California Psychiatric Association (CPA) and the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Our members have been involved in the following:

  • Passage of the new, updated mental health parity law
  • Repeal of the Medicare "Sustained Growth Formula" that determines reimbursement for physicians
  • Ensuring our patients have proper mental health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act
  • Advocacy at the State and Federal level over issues facing our profession and patients
  • Improvements in outreach to residents, fellows and other mental health providers

While reflecting on our past and current successes, we are indebted to our past leadership and members who helped make these happen. We look ahead for new ideas, energy and drive to continue making progress for our profession and patients. Our continued success depends on your involvement as a member.

For residents and fellows, SDPS can provide valuable contacts, professional development opportunities, educational activities and a venue for advocacy. We exist because of you. Your voice is our voice. Organized psychiatry will continue to be our profession’s public identity and we hope you will join us in continuing our shared goals and vision in caring for the mentally ill. Finally, we wish you the best wishes for success in your career.

Why Join SDPS, CPA and APA?

Who would be fighting now against proposed state regulations that give medical authority to psychologists or allow other medical professionals to work independently of physicians? No one.

What collective voice for psychiatry would work with Congress to ensure that mentally ill patients are treated the same as medically ill patients? No one.

What collective voice for psychiatry would work with the American Medical Association to ensure that our work is compensated on the same basis as our medical colleagues? No one.

What organization would give us a national presence on such diverse topics as patient rights, medical ethics, unbiased research, medical education and evidence-based treatment guidelines? None.

Without the San Diego Psychiatric Society and the American Psychiatric Association, who would manage members’ concerns, engage residents, assist psychiatrists early in their careers and lobby local and state lawmakers on matters critical to our community's mental health care system? Who would serve as the liason for our state and national organizations? That's right, no one!

If you agree that we need an APA, a CPA and a SDPS to do all of the above, who should pay for these professional societies? Just some of us? Or do all psychiatrists have a duty to chip in and pull their own weight?

All psychiatrists, regardless of their practice settings, benefit from the advocacy of our national, state and local organizations. As individuals, we have little power to affect society or its government. However, as a collective body, we have a dramatic impact.

There is power in numbers and we need every psychiatrist in our community to participate. It is unfair that some who decline to join the APA enjoy the fruits of the labor and financial sacrifices of those who are members. Moreover, every member we lose weakens organized psychiatry. If you are not a member, please join. If you are a member, please continue your membership and encourage a colleague to join.

Click here to join