Electronic Spring 2023 | Issue 54

What it is like to be in Leadership Role in the APA Assembly

By: Kenneth Busch, MD
Area 4 Representative, APA Assembly

Many of you know what the APA Assembly is all about. So I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my particular role as Area 4 Representative. The entire Assembly is divided into 7 Areas. Each Area consists of several states, except Area 2 for New York and Area 6 for California. Area 4 includes 12 Midwest states with Illinois, Ohio and Michigan among the largest and North Dakota and South Dakota being some of the smallest. Assembly delegates for each state are elected by constituents in their District Branches while the Representative (Chair) for each Area is elected by the delegates from that particular region.

IPS has a long tradition of leadership in the Assembly and APA. To recall some for their dedicated service: Dr. Nada Stotland, Dr. Daniel Anzia, and Dr. Sidney Weissman. And a few since deceased: Dr. Prakash Desai and Dr. Patrick Staunton. I am currently serving my second term as Area 4 Representative and previously served in other capacities. My role is to provide leadership for the entire part of Area 4 and its DB constituents. This includes working with the delegates on issues relevant to the Assembly as a whole, as well as state-by-state matters. Our area is wonderful to work with. We have a friendly and collegial way of working with each other. It is particularly gratifying to have this support amongst all of us in our region.

What does this all mean for IPS? It provides an opportunity to have voice not only through your IPS delegates, but also through your leaders.

One of the responsibilities of the Area Representative is to participate in the Assembly Executive Committee (AEC). The AEC meets separately, twice per year, and then also at the Fall and Spring Assembly during the Annual Meeting. We discuss pertinent business with the Speaker for all of the areas and set the agenda for the upcoming meetings for the entire Assembly. More reports are provided to AEC from APA Officers and Staff such as the APA President and CEO/Medical Director. For any leader it is important to have a network of friends and colleagues who you know well. I am especially grateful to our IPS delegates for their trust and contributions not only to Area 4, but to the full Assembly.

Dr. Arden Barnett and Dr. Joshua Nathan are assigned to the Assembly Work Group for Communications to look at ways for outreach to the District Branches. Dr. Shastri Swaminathan is a long standing member of the Assembly Procedures Committee, which plays a vital role in setting up the agenda for the Fall and Spring Assembly Meetings. He also serves as our Representative
and Moderator for the Legislative Institute. Dr. Linda Gruenberg participates in the Rules Committee which sets the tone for Action papers being assigned to the Reference Committees. Dr. Christine Farag is our Resident delegate on Area 4 Council and serves on our Program Committee. Dr. Susan Scherer will be serving as an Alternate Representative for IPS at our upcoming winter meeting. Dr. Sudhakar Shenoy was appointed Alternate ECP Representative for the winter meeting, also.

At our area council meetings we have focused on legislative affairs, program development and virtual events, and events for Resident/Fellow members (RFMs). We have held an annual Legislative Institute for many years at our Winter Meeting, which is supported by APA Staff from Government Relations. The institute provides education and information to our delegates about national and statewide priorities. Many IPS members have participated as guests at the institute, as space would allow at the Chicago O'Hare Hotel. We also host an APA PAC event with a Member of Congress as part of our program. Our RFM event was held virtually a few months ago and geared toward handling the transition into clinical practice. We had a large turnout from the region including IPS. Outstanding presentations were provided from the speakers and we received excellent feedback from the RFMs afterwards.

We hosted our Third Annual Event in January to honor the life of Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Several IPS members were in attendance. The title was: The New Chapter of Reproductive Justice and the Legacy of Rev. Dr. King. Our Keynote Speaker was Dr. Diana Ramos, the first Latina to serve as California Surgeon General.

Rev. Dr. King received the Planned Parenthood Federation of America's Margaret Sanger Award in 1966. Our program on January 14th focused on the mental health of women faced with legal and social barriers to exercise autonomy over their body and in particular their reproductive rights. Also, we concentrated on the efforts to collaborate and educate our colleagues in medicine as we navigate a post Roe v. Wade era. We are hugely grateful to the Surgeon General of California, Dr. Diana Ramos for an outstanding presentation and also, we thank APA President, Dr. Rebecca Brendel and APA Deputy Medical Director, Dr. Regina James for their participation and contributions.

Another role of the Area Representative is to mentor the delegates about the process and procedures of the Assembly and prepare them for future roles. It is very gratifying to see some of our delegates move up into leadership positions.

It is an honor to serve you as your Area 4 Representative. It requires much time and effort both from your Leadership and IPS Delegates. Being part of the Assembly and serving our constituents is especially important for all of us. We thank you for your support and welcome your input.