By Sherin Moideen, MD
PSV Assembly Representative
Richmond, VA
Dear Colleagues,
I had the privilege of attending the momentous 100th APA Assembly meeting in May 2024, held during the Annual meeting in New York City. As a newcomer to the APA assembly, I am eager to share my reflections about this pivotal event, hoping to inspire greater engagement from our members. I was glad to have our fellow district branch members and veteran APA Assembly representatives, Dr. John Shemo and Dr. Adam Kaul, in attendance. The APA provides an orientation session with a comprehensive PowerPoint lecture for new Assembly members, but the learning curve is steep. I am excited to share some of the insights I’ve gained from representing our District Branch at the Assembly.
Psychiatric Society of Virginia is one of the 64 APA district branches located throughout the United States, Canada, and its territories. These branches are geographically based. Each district branch gets proportional representatives based on their membership number. PSV has three district branch representatives at the APA. A DB with 451-900 can send three representatives to the Assembly. It is interesting to note that Northern Virginia (Cities such as Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Arlington, and Fairfax counties) do not belong to our district branch. They are part of the Washington, DC, district branch and belong to Area 3.
The District Branches are further divided into seven areas: regional groupings of district branches. Areas provide a way for the APA to address issues specific to a particular region of the country. PSV belongs to Area 5. Area 5 members include representatives from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia (except northern VA), West Virginia, and Uniformed Services. The APA Assembly, a platform that represents and serves the needs of the district branches (DBs) and state associations (SAs), plays a crucial role in advocating for the advancement of mental health care.
We gather in a large assembly hall, with members from each area sitting together to facilitate smoother governance. The Assembly is led by a Speaker, Speaker-Elect, and Recorder. “The American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure” maintains order during Assembly meetings. It’s heartening to witness a large forum where our colleagues engage in lively debates, foster connections, and collaborate with their fellow psychiatrists. Together, we advocate for the advancement of mental health care, propose position statements, suggest APA policy changes, and much more.
As Dr. John Shemo mentioned, we would love to hear your input. Please let us know if you have any ideas for introducing an action paper at the next Assembly.
