Education Committee Update
by Indranil Chakrabarti, MD, DFAPA
Education Committee Chair
Indranil Chakrabarti, MD, is an academic psychiatrist whose work bridges medical education, clinical psychiatry, and health systems innovation. He is board-certified in Psychiatry, Geriatric Psychiatry, and Clinical Informatics.
Dr. Chakrabarti has led the design of medical education activities for medical students, including simulation-based learning, telepsychiatry-focused training, and virtual interventions that prepare learners for contemporary psychiatric practice. His professional interests include clinical skills education, learner assessment, technology-enabled training, and workforce development in psychiatry. He is also active in organized medicine and advocacy, with a focus on improving access to psychiatric care for rural, underserved, and veteran populations.
The PaPS Education Committee has continued to build on its mission of supporting the high-quality psychiatric education needs of members across the Commonwealth. Over the past year, the committee has focused on developing timely, clinically relevant, and accessible educational programming that reflects the evolving needs of psychiatrists and the communities we serve.
A major priority over the last three years has been the continued growth of PaPS statewide CME offerings. Through monthly webinars, the committee has worked to present expert speakers and practical topics that are relevant to everyday clinical practice, while also addressing broader issues affecting our profession. These programs provide an important opportunity for members to remain current across various subspecialty areas, engage with emerging clinical and systems-level topics, meet professional development goals, and stay connected to colleagues across Pennsylvania. Feedback from attendees has been overwhelmingly supportive, affirming the value of these CME activities in helping members remain current and meet their professional development needs.
The committee has also remained attentive to the licensure renewal-related CME needs of our members. Traditionally, PaPS has hosted a separate patient safety and risk management seminar to help address this need. Going forward, this educational activity will be incorporated into the upcoming Keystone Psychiatric Forum: Inspiring the Next Era of Psychiatry, to be held this fall. This inaugural statewide conference represents an exciting opportunity to bring together psychiatrists, residents and fellows, educators, advocates, and thought leaders for high-quality CME, professional connection, and renewed engagement with organized psychiatry. The committee is also working closely with PaPS leadership and the statewide planning group to help develop the speaker lineup and other scholarly activities during the conference.
In addition, the committee remains committed to increasing member engagement and creating meaningful opportunities for residents and fellows, early career psychiatrists, and senior members to participate in educational leadership. We are grateful to all committee members, speakers, and PaPS staff who have helped make these efforts possible. We look forward to continuing this work and strengthening PaPS as a home for psychiatric education, professional growth, and collaboration across the Commonwealth.