You asked for it, you got it: more CE at APA's Annual Convention

APA members who go to this year's APA Convention in San Francisco will have a new opportunity to earn continuing professional education (CPE) credits just by attending specified convention sessions, including those in the Presidential Miniconvention, "Psychology builds a healthy world: new markets, new research," and selected sessions from each of APA's four directorates.

This expanded opportunity is available in addition to the convention's regular CPE programming of 66 intensive half-day and full-day workshops sponsored by APA's CPE Office and the Continuing Professional Education Committee.

"This new programming will expand the opportunities APA members have to earn CPE credits during convention," says Jo Linder-Crow, PhD, associate director of education and director of continuing professional education in APA's Education Directorate.

There won't be much additional cost for this new service, Linder-Crow adds. CPE credits for miniconvention sessions are free; the other sessions will include a $10 processing fee. Fees for the more intensive CPE workshops are as follows: Four-hour workshops are $100 for members and $130 for nonmembers who register in advance; and $120 for members and $150 for nonmembers who register on site. Seven-hour workshops are $175 for members and $205 for nonmembers who register in advance; and $210 for members and $240 for nonmembers who register on site.

If members deem the new effort successful, it will likely be expanded to include a greater number of convention sessions, Linder-Crow adds. Over time, it may also include a Web-based component, where members can view selected convention sessions via Webcast and pay an extra fee to take a CPE exam that tests their knowledge of the session, she says.

The pilot CPE program is partly in response to a survey of about 2,000 members who attended last year's APA Convention in Washington, D.C., notes APA's Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer L. Michael Honaker, PhD.

"The most frequently requested addition to convention was the opportunity to get CPE credits for attendance," Honaker says. "It does seem to be an important service that members want."

Expanded CE offerings at convention

Those who go to APA's Annual Convention in San Francisco this August can earn continuing professional education credit for attending the following regular convention sessions:

• All of the sessions in the Presidential Miniconvention program, "Psychology builds a healthy world: new markets, new research."

• "Addressing lesbian, gay and bisexual adolescent and mental health in schools" (two-hour session offered by the Education Directorate).

• "Closing the gap: using technology to promote healthy behavior"(two-hour session offered by the Education Directorate).

• Racial profiling: a psychological exploration" (two-hour session offered by the Public Interest Directorate).

• Ethical dilemmas for psychologists in law and in court (two-hour session offered by the Ethics Office).

• "Top 10 ethical dilemmas faced by psychologists" (two-hour session offered by the Ethics Office).

• "How to publish your journal article" (two-hour session offered by the Office of Communications).

• "Interlinking e-resources in psychology: the new wave of APA online member services" (one-hour session offered by the Office of Communications).

• "The inevitability of evolutionary psychology and the limitations of adaptationism: lessons from the other primates" (one-hour session offered by the Science Directorate).

• "Behavior, socioeconomic context and cardiovascular disease: a lifespan approach" (one-hour session offered by the Science Directorate).

• "New substance abuse treatment strategies: latest research from NIDA and CSAT" (two-hour session offered by the Practice Directorate).

• "Training for healthy psychological practice: teaching and modeling self-care" (two-hour session offered by the Practice Directorate).

Members can also locate available sessions, and find instructions for recording attendance at CPE sessions, in the following venues:

• The convention program itself.

• The CPE insert in this issue of the Monitor.

• The APA Convention Web site.

The CPE project is part of an overall APA effort to revamp the convention to better serve members. APA's Board of Convention Affairs has been closely reviewing the convention over the last decade and regularly surveying members to see what changes may be needed to make the convention more attractive and to increase attendance, which has dropped over the past several years.

The 2002 APA Convention in Chicago will feature some of the changes suggested by members, including:

• A shorter convention of 3 1/2 days as compared with 6 days.

• A central venue for all convention sessions to avoid the rush from one hotel to the next.

• More thematic, cross-divisional programming.

• Plenary sessions featuring top-name speakers that are the only sessions in a particular time slot so that all conventioneers may attend.

The new CPE opportunity makes sense given the high level of regular convention programming, comments Cynthia Belar, PhD, executive director of APA's Education Directorate. "So many programs at convention are of high quality, they should certainly qualify for CPE credit," she says.