By Badr Ratnakaran MBBS
Carilion Clinic
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine
Roanoke, VA

We had an extraordinary 2024 Spring Meeting of the Psychiatric Society of Virginia, held from March 1-2, 2024, at the Sheraton Virginia Beach Oceanfront Hotel in Virginia Beach, VA.

More than 70 attendees, including residents and medical students, attended the event. The theme of the meeting was “Psychiatry at the Crossroads: The Future and Challenges in Mental Health Treatment.”

We had our Friday evening reception on March 1 with members across Virginia who met with our exhibitor sponsors. On Saturday, Dr. Robert Trestman, who served as the Chair of the APA Presidential Work Group on Roadmap for the Future of Psychiatry, started the scientific session with his keynote speech on the challenges in the field of psychiatry and the essential steps that we and APA must take for our field.  Miss Silvana Mazella from Prevention Point Philadelphia, presented on harm reduction for managing substance use disorders. Dr. Joran Sequeira and Dr. Katherine Liebesny provided consecutive sessions on emergency psychiatry, discussing the ongoing mental health crisis in emergency rooms and suicide assessment in child and adolescent psychiatry patients. Dr. Hamid Okhravi discussed new disease-modifying medications for Alzheimer’s disease, and Dr. Jordan Rosen talked about the scope of psychiatrists in managing behavioral problems of patients in critical care settings.

I, Dr. Badr Ratnakaran, concluded the session by presenting the issue of loneliness in our society and its effect across the lifespan. During the meeting our legislative advisors provided us with updates and discussed opportunities for us to inquire about advocacy for us and our patients. 

I also want to take this opportunity to remind our members, trainees, and students to attend the 2024 APA Annual Meeting to be held in New York from May 6-10.