The Dawn of a New Director-in-Training

Julie Enyingi, MD

Director-in-Training, Canadian Psychiatric Association; Winnipeg, Manitoba.

At the September 1998 Annual Meeting of the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the Directors-in-Training (DITs) met to plan for their next 2 years of service. Your DITs are Dr Lisa McMurray (Montreal), serving the second year of her 2-year term, Dr Anne Porter (Newfoundland), in her first year, and myself, also in my first year. The Members-in- Training and Fellows Section is chaired by Dr Todd Tomita (Toronto). Most residents do not know who or what a DIT is or is supposed to be. Although many will recall receiving a cryptic notice about a DIT election, what this role involves and who ultimately fills it remains a mystery to most.

Not surprisingly, the DITs have struggled with this identity crisis as well. A bit of history may be useful here. The Members-in-Training (MITs) Section, 1 of 12 active sections of the CPA, was established almost as long ago as the CPA itself, now approaching 50 years! The CPA constitution and bylaws state that a minimum of 50 members is required to form a section. Clearly, at one time, interest and enthusiasm galvanized residents into action, ultimately forming the Members-in-Training and Fellows section. At the 1998 Annual Meeting, only 66 residents of the approximate 530 who are registered with the CPA attended, despite the fact that registration fees were waived for MITs. Even fewer residents participated in the Members-in-Training and Fellows Section meeting.

The DITs sit as full voting members on the CPA Board of Directors. The present organization of the Board has 17 members, 3 of which are DITs! This is a significant and generous level of representation for residents on the Board of our national specialty organization. Those of us empowered with this privilege take it very seriously. In fact, our first meeting in September focused entirely on how we can better represent our resident body. We discussed numerous goals for our current term as DITs.

We felt it especially important to improve the profile and clarify the role of the DIT position so that all residents are aware of who we are, what we do, and how we represent them. However, as regions of the country are represented by DITs on a rotating basis (that is, only 3 of 5 regions are represented at a time), we must work closely with the local and provincial resident organizations to establish a resident network where all issues and concerns may be raised and addressed.

The CPA has taken steps to facilitate resident involvement in a number of ways. In the past, these have included but are not limited to free CPA membership (including receipt of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, Bulletin, and News Bulletin) and free Annual Meeting registration. The CPA also plans to form a resident network and bring communication between sections  into the 21st century. The unveiling of the “caucus conference” service is expected to take place next spring at the CPA Internet site, CPAnet. This service will enable our membership to meet and “talk” about current and pressing issues. We will have the opportunity to establish a Members-in-Training and Fellows Section Conference Room to address our unique concerns.

The role of the DIT will continue to evolve over the next several months and perhaps years. We are all committed to addressing residents’ issues and representing their views in a fair and meaningful way. If you wish to contact any of us, please call the CPA office at 1-800-267-1555 or email cpa@medical.org. In the meantime, stay abreast of the issues through your residents’ associations, where you can expect to hear more from your DIT in the near future.

Résumé — Questions de formation : Les débuts d’un nouveau directeur en formation (DEF)

Par le passé, la participation des résidents à l’Association des psychiatres du Canada (APC) était limitée pour nombre de raisons. Le rôle des directeurs en formation (DEF), qui siègent au conseil d’administration, importe particulièrement aux résidents qui désirent se faire entendre à ce niveau hiérarchique. On encourage les résidents à faire part de leurs préoccupations au sujet de la formation, des cours et des questions éventuelles sur la pratique à leurs DEF. À l’aube de l’an 2000, l’APC continue de favoriser la participation des résidents. Ceux-ci auront bientôt l’occasion de se réunir en groupe par Internet et de discuter de leurs préoccupations. Vous pouvez joindre votre DEF aux bureaux de l’APC par téléphone : 1 800 267-1555, par télécopieur : (613) 234-9857 ou par courrier électronique : cpa@medical.org.