Question of the Day: Why are you here?

Every day, Psychiatric News will be asking Annual Meeting attendees a question. For the first day of the conference, we were wondering: What are attendees hoping to get out of the meeting?

We heard from medical students, fellows, and international psychiatrists who told us how excited they are to meet their colleagues, learn about the latest findings in the field, and share their own research. Watch the video or read the lightly edited transcript below to learn more.

Olusegun Agaja, third-year medical student, Lincoln Memorial University: What I’m really looking forward to getting from this conference is—not only is there a ton of information about innovation, AI, and other exciting things going on in psychiatry—but also, look around. There are so many people, so many things going on, so many events, so many people to connect with. So, between those two things, that’s what I’m most excited about here at the APA conference. Go, psychiatry!

Asmaa Hassan, M.D., M.Sc., child and adolescent psychiatry fellow, Children’s National Hospital: As an IMG, I would like to connect with other IMGs, residents, or other fellows, and I guess just have fun and expand my social circle.

Amy Choi, B.S., third-year medical student, California University of Science and Medicine: Today I’m looking forward to seeing everybody’s research, networking, and just seeing more of what’s out there in psychiatry.

Muhammad Moazzam, M.S., third-year medical student, University of Queensland: I came here to present my research on substance use. Now I’m looking forward to seeing all the innovation that’s occurring in the field of psychiatry, and also meeting some wonderful professors, faculty members, as well as students in my cohort and learning what’s happening in psychiatry.

Raj Dangi, M.D., psychiatrist, Melbourne, Australia: I hope to enlighten myself about the latest developments in my field, particularly in terms of managing complex patients, and learn more about the latest developments in psychopharmacology and particularly focus on ADHD management and treatment.

Derek Mark, third-year medical student, California University of Science and Medicine: I just want to have fun. I want to see what people love about psychiatry, to see what I would love about psychiatry. ■