Q3: What are your plans for expanding the APA membership in light of our aging membership? Most particularly, what are your ideas for recruiting, retaining and engaging early career psychologists (ECPs)?
Actions speak louder than words; let's recruit members using our actions. Our workforce is aging and we'll need more psychologists. Let's stop alienating the large percentage of ECPs who didn't have APA-accredited internships. Psychologists shouldn't be excluded from employment just because their internship wasn't APA-accredited. Also, everyone should have access to psychological services, so let's help the public by ensuring adequate insurance networks. The public is finding that too many psychologists, including ECPs, are excluded from insurance panels. ECPs can't even apply to join some networks for three to five years post-licensure. The public deserves adequate networks; let's take action.
Q4: How do you see the role of technology in communicating with general APA membership, committees and boards, as well as consumers of psychology?
Most of us still use email; however, APA members have to pay to join some other organization just to communicate with each other via email discussion lists. Let's create geographically and topically based Listservs for any member interested in subscribing. If members wanted to interact with others in their region, area of clinical interest or research interest, they could send an email to a mailing list full of APA members who share their interests. Let's create these discussion lists, make them free to any interested APA member, and let members themselves propose the topics of the lists. Visit twitter.com/DrFinnerty.