Levels of Membership: Membership categories range from Medical Student and Member-in-Training (residents) to General Member, Fellow, Life Member and Life Fellow with different categories carrying different privileges and responsibilities.

What Membership Provides: Membership is the backbone of any organization and the Florida Psychiatric Society is no exception. In order to have an active, vibrant society, we must have an enthusiastic membership. Benefits of Florida Psychiatric Society membership are many. Members receive regular information of importance to their profession through Transference, the Newsletter of the Florida Psychiatric Society, through the FPS Home Page on the World Wide Web, through the Legislative Bulletin published regularly during the session, and through additional mailings when needed. Our Tallahassee staff maintains a very active presence, constantly pursuing those issues likely to impact the psychiatric profession. The Staff is proactive when possible and reactive when necessary. Our Government Relations Consultant keeps on top of the legislation likely to affect our profession and our patients and consults frequently with our Executive Director and our Legislative Affairs Representative to determine appropriate responses. We maintain active coalitions with patient advocacy groups. We publish a yearly Membership Directory with the names, addresses, telephone and Fax numbers, areas of interest, subspecialties, type of practice, and e-mail addresses of our members. The society makes available patient information brochures for a nominal fee and provides a free referral service for physicians and their patients. Each spring and fall the Florida Psychiatric Society holds meetings during which organizational business is conducted, committees meet, and scientific programs of the highest quality are presented for Continuing Medical Education credit. During these meetings, which last for four days, psychiatrists have an opportunity to exchange information and share concerns, wants, and needs with their colleagues and with FPS officers and staff. The Florida Psychiatric Society sponsors an affinity MasterCard through MBNA for members who qualify. We are constantly searching for additional ways to serve our members.

Embracing Diversity: The Florida Psychiatric Society embraces the diversity of Florida's psychiatrists and welcomes their membership and participation. Our members include psychiatrists who are in private practice, in Veterans Administration Hospitals, in State Hospitals, in Correctional Center settings, in Mental Health Centers, and on Medical School faculties. Our members are young and old, new to practice and with a lifetime of experience, trained in this country and trained abroad. Our members are native born and foreign born, African-American and white, Hispanic and Asian, gay and straight, female and male. We welcome all of these psychiatrists in the FPS and we welcome YOU to join us too!

With contributions from Carlos Berry, M.D. and Phillip Cushman, M.D.