Death, taxes, and change may be the only certainties in life. However, how do we manage uncertainty? So much seems uncertain in these turbulent times; how can we navigate our way through it? This applies to our world at large right now, but also to psychiatric education of medical students, residents, faculty, and others. Because uncertainty is stressful (and distressing), we need to hold fast to our anchors and support one another. How we navigate together will chart the future for us and our learners and point to where the future of psychiatric education will be. Academic psychiatrists need to be equipped for the peaks and valleys, challenges, setbacks, and successes. We want to share with each other how to keep progressing through challenges and setbacks, and how to learn and share lessons from our successes. The theme for our 2026 AAP Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City is Navigating the Peaks and Valleys: Education in Uncertain Times. Let’s chart our course together, sharing guidance for teaching, learning, and mentorship when we join again at the 2026 AAP Annual Meeting.

~ Michael J Peterson, MD, PhD, 2025-2026 AAP President