In several of these cases, the students were determined to have significant impairment. One of the major goals of CPAP is to reduce the number of impaired physicians by helping students to identify, gain access to treat, or even prevent behaviors begun in medical school which may lead to impairment. Our experience also indicates that students often do not know to whom they can turn in a crisis. We provide a confidential, supportive resource that can help in those times. New CPAP members are chosen from each first-year class by the current CPAP members.
Candidates apply and go through an interview process before being selected.
There are no hard and fast qualifications for membership. Rather, successful applicants are those who show interest, compassion, and sensitivity regarding potential problems faced by their medical student peers. There is no set number of CPAP members for each class, and the number has ranged anywhere from three to eight per year. After selection, the new members are given rudimentary training in supportive counseling and crisis intervention. The members of CPAP agree to try to be accessible to their peers at any time if a need should arise.