Winter 1999, Vol. 8, No. 2.

President's Letter

Message from the President

By Thomas H. Valk, M.D., MPH
Great Falls, VA

Dear AOOP Members:

I am saddened to announce the death of Alan McLean in June of this year. Alan was a founding father of AOOP, a preeminent figure in organizational and occupational psychiatry (OOP), and played a vital role at IBM for many years. He was also twice past president of ACOEM, wrote many books, and headed an OOP program at Cornell at one time. He and his work have been an inspiration to many of us and his many contributions to AOOP and to the field will not be forgotten.

Len Sperry submitted his resignation as editor of the AOOP Bulletin after delivering the Spring edition. Len is a charter member of AOOP and has worked long, hard and tirelessly, both as an AOOP Board Member and then as our editor, to advance the group and the field of OOP. I want to personally and on behalf of the Board thank Len for his work and many contributions – they will be missed. It is my hope that Len will remain active in AOOP where his input will be sought and always welcomed.

Your Board met just before the APA meeting this past May in Washington for a strategic planning session to map out where AOOP should be going over the next five years. My thanks to the Board members for their time and effort in making this project a success. Building upon the Annual Meeting strategic planning sessions, the Board identified seven general areas that need our attention and efforts:

1. membership, especially growth to the 400 mark and retention to the 80% level;
   
2. better definition of the field of OOP, a priority project handed to a six member Task Force headed by Steve Heidel with a six month goal to outline the field;
   
3. recruitment of AOOP members to serve in leadership roles – a vital undertaking – WE NEED YOU!;
   
4. increased recognition within psychiatry, industry and other professional groups;
   
5. increased membership benefits to include recognition awards, an increase in the frequency of the Bulletin to 3 or 4 times per year and increased development of the AOOP web site (now www.aoop.org);
   
6. financial stability (a six month reserve in the bank at all times) and growth;
   
7. an eventual certification process in OOP as a logical consequence of field definition to include the development of an OOP curriculum.

These are ambitious yet entirely necessary goals. We welcome, indeed, we ask for, members' comments, suggestions, and most importantly, willingness to work in any of these areas. Please contact the AOOP office.

Thanks to the able efforts of our Program Chair, Sandra Cohen, planning for the 11th Annual Meeting is on schedule with a number of interesting speakers lined up. The theme is 'Psychiatry at Work – 2000: The Challenges of the 21st Century' and the meeting will be held January 14-16, 2000 in San Diego at the Westgate Hotel. Mark your calendars and be sure to attend what will be an exciting and thought provoking conference. I look forward to seeing you there.

Sincerely,
Thomas H. Valk, M.D., MPH
President

 
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