APA Focus

The Official Newsletter of the Academic Pediatric Association

In This Issue

Volume 46 Issue 3

June 2009

Communications
Directors Message
Presidents Message
Past President's Message
Treasurers Message
Secretarys Message
Annual Meeting Photo
Highlights, Baltimore
2009
New APA Members

Upcoming Conferences
Pediatric Hospital
Medicine Meeting
PEEAC Conference
Pediatric Academic
Societies (PAS) Meeting
2010

Communications Directors Message

This issue of the APA Focus is focused on information
about the PAS Annual Meeting from 2009 and
looking forward to our 50th Anniversary all this year.
In this issue, you will see a re-cap of all the great
science, professional development and networking
opportunities that happened in Baltimore. In the April
Issue, I called the PAS a smorgasbaord and I hope you
were able to fill your plate and taste the many
workshops, presentations and meetings that occurred.
This begins our 50th year anniversary as an association. Our President,
Danielle Laraque, has been heading our celebration committee. All the
activities surrounding the celebration can be found on the website and are
highlighted in the Presidents Message.

Read the APA Focus carefully. There are lots of great projects, meetings and
opportunities that occur all year long, so continue to be involved with them or
volunteer to work on the special projects of these groups; these projects are
often deeply rewarding personally and professionally.
There are EARLIER deadlines for the Vancouver 2010 PAS Workshop and Original Science Abstracts
this year. Please be ready to submit your and your trainees best work for the meeting.

Committee Reports
Education
Research
Public Policy and Advocacy

Programs
Academic General Pediatric
Fellowship Accreditation
Program
Educational Scholars
Program

Liaisons
Pediatric Educational
Excellence Across the
Continuum (PEEAC)

Regions
Region I
Region II
Region III
Region IV
Region V
Region VII
Region VIII

PAS Workshop Proposals - August 14, 2009

Original Science Abstracts - November 18, 2009
Yours,
Donna D'Alessandro
Communications Director
Academic Pediatric Association

Presidents Message
The 49th Academic Pediatric Association Meeting
At the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting
Returning from Baltimore, Maryland where over
5700 pediatric colleagues assembled to deliberate on
research findings, educational approaches, clinical
discoveries and public policy and advocacy
priorities was indeed invigorating. As with other
years, the agenda was packed. Three Presidential
Plenaries (APA, AAP, APS/SPR) brought to the forefront the
accomplishments of many members in the spheres of international health,
tobacco control, injury control, chronic care, and much more. For our own
APA Plenary, Robert Haggerty, was celebrated with a Distinguished Career
Award and the Armstrong Lecture was presented by the Doctors Without
Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF). Peer reviewed presentations
excited us on the emerging science presented by our colleagues.

Region IX

There were several highlights of the meeting. The State of Art Plenary on
Children with Special Health Care Needs was exceptional, organized in
Region X
recognition of the contributions of James M. Perrin, and his leadership as
the editor of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics for the past decade. Peter
Szilagyi, the current Academic Pediatrics journal editor, opened up the session. Dr. Haggerty shared with us
his many memories of pediatric medicine over the past 50 years mingled with his recollections of Jim Perrin.
Charlie J. Homer, President & CEO of NICHQ, shared with us a very personal review of the importance of
quality improvement strategies in improving the care we deliver to all, and especially children requiring the
coordination of the multiple levels of the health care delivery system. As usual Paul H. Wise, challenged us to
think of a new pediatrics in the 21st century and the necessary emphasis on the millennium morbidity of chronic
diseases and the questions we must pose vis--vis the role of pediatrics as a specialty. Charles E. Irwin, Jr.,
commented on the current status of pediatric medicine with closing remarks on the role of pediatric journals in
bringing focus to key maternal and child health priorities. Finally, Jim Perrin, much moved by the tribute to his
accomplishments, reflected on the emergence of the concept of chronic care, its implication for organization of
that care and his journey over the past decade.
The Business meeting on Sunday afternoon was led by Tina Cheng, in her final act as President. She outlined
an extensive and ambitious program of the APA that had also been championed by the Presidents before her.
These included a clear and thoughtful strategic plan that outlines our efforts in four main areas: Core
Enhancements to the Association; Meeting Membership Needs; Promoting Professional Development, Research

and Scholarship; and Championing an Equitable Childrens Agenda.

The business meeting included
recognition of excellence in teaching to the Childrens Hospital at Pittsburgh, the Public Policy Award to Lisa
Chamberlain, the Research Award to Mark Schuster, and the Health Care Delivery Award to the Diana L.
and Stephen A. Goldberg Center for Community Pediatric Health, Childrens National Medical Center. The
receipt of certificates for our first cohort of educational scholars
manifested the organizations commitment to faculty development.
Special Interest Groups
At the business meeting, in usual fashion, the gavel was handed to the
Advocacy Training
Presidents successor and the change of officers was followed by the
resurrection of the APA debate, moderated by Joel Alpert. The
Child Abuse
challenging theme was universal health care is NOT in the best
Continuity
interest of children. In fact, what was debated was uniform health
care and the brilliant analyses by Lisa Simpson, Carol Berkowitz,
Division Directors in General
Steve Berman, and Lisa Chamberlain made us laugh over a topic that
Pediatric
we sorely need to resolve in our country. Following the meeting, a
series of emails flew with suggestions for next years debate. Stay
E-Learning in Medical Education
tuned for the announcement of next years theme! Feel free to send
Ethics
suggestions to [email protected].
Faculty Development
Fellowship Training
Hospital Medicine
Injury Control
Medical Informatics
Pain
Pediatric Clinical Research
Pediatric Residents
Pediatric Tobacco
Quality Improvement
Serving the Underserved
Women in Medicine

On a personal note, the intellectual stimulation of working with a

talented and driven group of colleagues from the APA board and staff,
being embedded in the planning and running of the PAS program
content, and then stepping into the role of the APA President was
exciting and daunting as well. While our work is collective the
leadership sets the tone for what is to be achieved. My goal for this
year is to focus us squarely on the priorities for rendering the promise
of an equitable childrens policy agenda both nationally and
internationally. It is fitting that we will celebrate the APA 50th
Anniversary in the international setting of Vancouver, Canada, May 14, 2010. We are but one world and must link our mission of children in
the United States to that of all children. I thank you for the privilege of
heading this amazing organization. Please check the PAS and APA
websites for the already active planning for our 50th and stay tuned for
many preparatory activities to come. We will personally call on all
APA members to help in setting our course right.
Danielle Laraque
President

Academic Pediatric Association

Past Presidents Message

The So What? of Scholarship: Translating to Practice and Policy
It was wonderful to see so many of you at PAS in Baltimore! At our annual meeting I am
always inspired by the great work of others in clinical care and program building,
education, research, and advocacy. I always return home reinvigorated with new ideas
and energy.

Announcements
2009 Award Winners
2009 Young Investigator Award
Special Reports
CORNET
Primary Care Organizations
Consortium (PCOC)

I am especially inspired by demonstrations of scholarly work that

not only contribute new knowledge, but translate to practice, policy,
and improved health outcomes. Research is one of the pillars of the
APAs mission. Many of us are actively engaged in research for the
purpose of gaining new knowledge hoping that these efforts
translate to children and families. Ive always appreciated Boyer
and Glassicks delineation of four areas of scholarship which
provide a framework and acknowledge the types of scholarship
needed for translation.1-3
scholarship of discovery
scholarship of integration
scholarship of application
scholarship of teaching

Report from Workshops and SIGs

Chair

Discovery of new knowledge has been the research standard and is

necessary for progress. We also need the scholarship of integration
which studies connections between discoveries from different
approaches or disciplines and develops new models of care. Scholarship of application bridges theory and
practice to test the feasibility and effectiveness of these approaches and models. Translational research that
takes knowledge and discoveries from bench to the practical bedside and to impacting the health of
communities is needed. This includes study of methods to enhance translation into practice and into
communities. Finally, the importance of the scholarship of teaching cannot be underestimated. This
encompasses communication and dissemination of new knowledge to students, patients, and the community.
APA recognizes all four types of scholarship as evidenced by the work of our members. In the end we hope
that the research will translate to improvements in child and adolescent health. How do we make sure this
happens?

Ask the so what? question early and often. One of my early mentors, Evan Charney, hit me with
this question frequently when I started as a fellow. During that tough time of defining ones research
question I would read, think, read some more and come up with what I thought was a brilliant idea only
to be deflated by the so what question. Often we get so caught up in the research process or minutiae
that we lose our focus on the ultimate outcome: knowledge to improve child health.

Ask practice and policy-relevant research questions including the what and how question.
What evidence is needed for change? How will my work influence child health? Two past APA
Research Award winners demonstrate effective translation to practice and policy. APA Past President
Peter Szilagyi and his University of Rochester team have conducted research that was often mentioned
in the U.S. policy debate this past year on the Childrens Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act
of 2009 (CHIPRA). In numerous publications his research has shown improved health care access and
quality of care after enrollment in New York States Childrens Health Insurance Program (SCHIP),
critical data proving effectiveness. He also led pediatric organizations in the publication of Health
Insurance for all children and youth in the United States: A Position statement of the Federation of
Pediatric Organizations which appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics and has been part of health
reform discussions.4

Tracy Lieu, recipient of the APA Research Award in 2007, is a pediatrician and health services
researcher at Harvard University whose work has had direct impact on health policy in the U.S. and
internationally. Her research focuses on evaluating the health benefits and economic effects of primary
care services for children. Her studies of vaccine delivery and vaccine economics have been highly
influential in policy discussions by national committees, including the Advisory Committee on

Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics Red Book Committee. Dr. Lieu led
the seminal studies of the cost-effectiveness of varicella and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, and was
the senior investigator of studies on the cost-effectiveness of pertussis vaccination of adolescents and
pneumococcal vaccination of children in developing countries. The latter study was used to make the
economic case supporting decisions by the Vaccine Fund, Gates Foundation, and several countries to
commit more than $1.5 billion for the purchase of pneumococcal vaccine for developing countries.
The work of APA members J. Lindsey Lane and Ruth P. Gottlieb on structured clinical observations
is an example of educational program development and research translating to other practices. They
identified a need for a clinical skills teaching model that could be used in busy clinical settings and
developed and evaluated the Structured Clinical Observation (SCO) Program. This program involves a
series of brief direct observations of medical students for a portion of a real patient encounter by a
preceptor using standardized evaluation tools and providing feedback. Their work was published in
Pediatrics5 and combined with the work of others has led to SCOs becoming an established part of the
clinical teaching toolbox at many institutions.

Make sure research discoveries make it to publication and beyond. Publication isnt the end point
of our research but hopefully the beginning of new research questions and the beginning for new models
of education and care, new clinical practice and new policies. Get your message to those who can use
the informationit is often beyond our colleagues and the target audience of our academic journals, but
may be practitioners, policymakers and the public. After publishing, disseminating the publication and
advocating for change may be a necessary next step so your efforts to not simply languish in a dusty
journal.

There are many other great examples Boyer and Glassicks four types of scholarship by APA members
translating to improved practice, policy and outcomes. APAs mission supports this work on behalf of children
and families.
References
1. Boyer EL. Scholarship reconsidered: priorities of the professoriate. Princeton, NJ: The Carnegie
Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 1990.
2. Glassick CE, Huber MT, Maeroff GI. Scholarship assessed: evaluation of the professoriate. San
Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
3. Beattie DS. Expanding the View of Scholarship. Acad Med 200;75:871-876.
4. Szilagyi PG, Cheng TL, Simpson L, Berkelhamer JE, Sectish TC. Health Insurance for all children and
youth in the United States: A Position statement of the Federation of Pediatric Organizations. J Pediatr
2008;153:301-2.
5. Lane JL, Gottlieb RP. Structured Clinical Observations: a method to teach clinical skills with limited
time and financial resources. Pediatrics 2000;105;973-977.
Tina Cheng
Immediate Past President
Academic Pediatric Association

Treasurers Message
Fiscal Note: To Fix the Economy, Fix the Health Care System
It was great to see so many of you in Baltimore at the PAS Meeting, and especially to see
the participation of our membership in the APA Business Meeting and Debate. At the
meeting, I summarized our current position let me recapitulate it for those of you who
missed my brief address to the membership.

Things looked much better in Hawaii, both because of the venue and because the
economy had not yet tanked.
In 2007, we created a strategic plan that involved expanded programming and the
expenditure of some of our financial reserves (which were substantial)
In 2008, our reserves lost value (along with the rest of the market.)
In 2008, our income from investments and grants decreased substantially. Membership, fortunately, has
remained a constant.
In 2009, the Board has taken steps to reduce expenditures without eliminating Programs.
The Development Fund, which has also taken a hit, it still going strong.
We will weather the storm, but it wont get better until the economy does.

I closed with the wisdom of Garry Trudeaus character Honey Huan (from Doonesbury): There is great
disorder under heaven and the situation is normal.
Of course, all of this is happening as the APA begins its 50th Anniversary Year, our Golden Jubilee, to be
celebrated in Vancouver in 2010. The elder statesmen among us will say that the APA began with nothing but
the resolve of the membership to meet the needs of those working on the front lines of Academic Pediatrics
(and with dues of $7 per year to boot), and with that they were able to stop the Vietnam War almost singlehanded. Surely we can use this opportunity to forge an equally dynamic path into the future.
As members of the APA, what can you do to help you organization thrive in these troubled times? I propose
three concrete actions to help us through the financial crisis:
1. Contribute to the APA Development Fund: Our Development Fund is the future of the organization,
and we are right on the verge of creating a sustainable entity. In honor of the 50th Anniversary, go ahead
and contribute $50 to the fund. Even better, contribute a multiple of $50- say, $50 for each year of
membership. Or add a zero for each decade of membership. I will endorse any mathematical trick that
involves multiplication and positive integers to create a magic number that is right for you. But please
contribute.
2. Contribute your energy to the APA SIGs, Regions and Committees: We are a member organization,
and everything we do is done by our members. Often it is the leadership of one that gets the ball rolling,
but it is the strengthening of the group that makes it happen. What is your region up to this year? Find
out from your region chairs (http://www.ambpeds.org/regions/regions_chairs.cfm) and join in the activity.
Bring your SIG together between the meetings, and create a product that will move our organization
along. (http://www.ambpeds.org/specialInterestGroups/index.cfm) Sign up for a Committee listserve
(http://www.ambpeds.org/leadership/leadership_stdg_committees.cfm) and work on Education, Public Policy,
Research or Service Delivery between the meetings. There is a lot of work to do; it is a lot easier when
you do it together.
3. Contribute your voice to the debate about Health Care Reform: To fix the economy, we need to fix
the health care system. In reality, we need to finally create a health care system that can meet the needs
of America, and from our perspective, the needs of Americas diverse children and families, in order to

assure our economic competitiveness in the future. After many years, the debate is finally joined in a
real way, and we MUST be part of it. You can join the debate in several ways:
Speak Now for Kids (http://www.speaknowforkids.org/) is organizing stories and sending them to
Congress, to be sure that the message is heard. Tell your story and get your patients to tell theirs.
Doctors for America is organizing town hall meetings for doctors around the country to engage in
dialogue about the new system. Check out their website http://drsforamerica.org/
The President has set up a health care website at
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/organizingforhealthcare to facilitate action and collect feedback. Go
there and tell him what you think.
There may be other ways to make a difference; I will defer to the Public Policy and Advocacy
Committee for more ideas (http://www.ambpeds.org/public_policy/public_policy_index.cfm)
Last year was a tough one financially for organizations like ours, and as Treasurer, I can tell you that we will
survive it. Whether we will be able to report in 50 years that we won the current battle to change the health care
system is, to me, a much more important question. The APA needs you to contribute to the future of our
organization, to engage in the process of our organization and, most importantly, to bring your name into the
fight for health reform NOW.
There is a lot of work to do. Lets get to it.
David M. Keller
Treasurer
[email protected]

Academic Pediatric Association

Secretarys Message
This years PAS meeting in Baltimore has come and gone! The weather certainly left a
lot to be desired with all the rain. And I suspect those of you who were fortunate enough
to attend werent tempted quite as much as usual to find some spare time to enjoy the
great outdoors!
Once again this year, we had a wonderful collection of Workshops and SIGs! I know that
Steve Selbst, our PAS Workshop Chair, along with several of our members had an
incredibly challenging task of selecting those sessions from innumerable excellent
submissions. And perhaps even more difficult was the scheduling challenge and multiple
revisions to accommodate presenters schedules while minimizing topic conflicts. Each year Marge Degnon
and Connie Mackay spend countless hours with this task and we realize despite many of us reviewing the final
product, conflicts are inevitable due to the complexity and room constraints of the overall PAS schedule.
No doubt many of you were energized by the special Presidential, Plenary, State of the Art and Hot Topic
sessions. Definitely one of the most memorable this year focused on Children with Special Health Care Needs,
a tribute to Jim Perrins incredible lifetime work not only in this area, but also to his outstanding contributions
over the past 10 years as the founding editor of our journal, Ambulatory Pediatrics, now Academic Pediatrics.
His dedication to excellence in the journal while never failing to provide valuable mentorship to every
submitting author in his editors decision letter will remain the hallmark of his tenure. All of us who have
worked with him on the APA Board will miss his delightful conversations, thoughtful insight and profound
kindness at our Board meetings. Fortunately we will continue to enjoy his wisdom and advocacy for all
children through his inspiring participation in APA activities.

We appreciate all the comments that were submitted on the Program Evaluation cards and recent online survey.
Your suggestions are circulated to all the members of the Program Committee and discussed at program
planning sessions. If there are additional thoughts which come to mind, please forward them to me by email at
([email protected]). We appreciate your feedback and strive each year to improve the content and all aspects
of this meeting based upon your comments.
Next year we will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the APA in Vancouver at the annual meeting. This
should be a wonderful meeting as several special activities are in the planning stages. Please set aside May 1-4,
2010 to celebrate with us! You will be hearing much more about this in the coming months!
And as next years meeting is right around the corner, we are already beginning to develop the program. We
look to all our members to submit proposals for mini-courses, topic symposia, hot topics and state of the art
sessions. A submission form on the PAS website at www.pas-meeting.org can be accessed for proposing your
program ideas. As you might expect, the better developed a proposal, the greater the enthusiasm for and
likelihood of its inclusion by the PAS Program Committee. The deadline for submitting these proposals is July
1, 2009.
Importantly for many of us this year, the abstract deadline for poster and platform presentations has been
advanced to November 18, 2009. Please make note of this earlier deadline date!
Each year we also solicit the names of potential reviewers for these submitted abstracts. Soon after our late July
program meeting, we will be sending out an email listing the topic areas for which we need reviewers. We
always hope to increase the number of APA members who help with this enormous task. Please consider
volunteering and be aware that the moderators for the platform sessions are selected from those members who
have contributed their efforts to this review process. If you have any questions, again please do not hesitate to
send me an email at [email protected].
Hope everyone is having a happy, healthy and safe summer. While you enjoy some moments of relaxation, I
hope you will consider ways to improve our meeting and move the APAs agenda forward in advocating for
childrens health through education, research and policy. Please let us hear from you!
[email protected]

Marilyn Dumont-Driscoll
Secretary
Academic Pediatric Association

Annual Meeting Photo Highlights, Baltimore 2009

The PAS 2009 Meeting in Baltimore, MD was a
great success with 6,592 attendees, 892 of whom
were APA members. The meeting included state of
the art plenary and workshop sessions on some very
hot topics. The sessions enhanced the knowledge
and skills of the participants in areas of leadership,
clinical medicine, education and research which
specifically relate to academic medicine. Enjoy a
highlight of all that took place!

Peter Szilagyi recognizes Jim Perrin for his

outstanding ten years as editor of the APA Journal

Alejandro Hoberman accepted the 2009 Teaching

Award

Lisa Chamberlain received the Public Policy and

Advocacy Award from Tina Cheng

Mark A. Schuster received the Research Award

from Benard Dreyer

Robert Haggerty received the APA Distinguished

Career Award, shown with Tina Cheng, Jim Perrin
and Danielle Laraque

Mimi Bar-0n, Lyuba Konapasek, Nathan

Kuppermann received Miller-Sarkin from Mimi,
and Tina Cheng

Steve Berman and Lisa Chamberlain armed for the

debate

Debaters Lisa Simpson and Carol Berkoeverty

and moderator Joel Albert

Upcoming Conferences
Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2009
Meeting
July 23-26
Tampa Marriott Waterside
Hotel and Marina, Tampa, FL
Early Registration Deadline June 24, 2009

Pediatric Educational Excellence Across

The Continuum (PEEAC) Meeting
Register now

www.peeac.org
September 11 and 12, 2009
The Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, VA

APA's 50th Anniversary

1960 - 2010
Save the date for PAS in Vancouver to celebrate!
May 1 - 4, 2010
pas-meeting.org
Valid Passport is required for travel to Canada.
For information please visit www.travel.state.gov/passport.

2010 PAS Annual Meeting Deadlines**

Invited Science Proposals
July 1, 2009
PAS Workshop Proposals
August 14, 2009
Original Science Abstracts
November 18, 2009
**Please note earlier deadlines

New APA Members

Welcome to Our New APA Members
Michelle Barnes
Jay Berry
Christopher Bonafide
Jean Carstensen
Evan Fieldston
Martha Fuller
Myron Genel
Amy Houtrow

Steve Lauer
Michael McKenna
Michael Okogbo
Doug Opel
Kathryn K. Ostermaier
Victor Perez
Samantha Rosman

Heidi Saliba
Kathryn Scharbach
Joy Smith
Mustafa Suleymanci
John Takayama
Emily Webber
Charles Woods

Committee Reports
Education Committee Report
Education Committee Meeting:
Representatives from the APPD, COMSEP and CoPS came together at the Education Committee PAS meeting
on Sunday May 3rd from 11:00-12:30. A major focus for discussion was how we can best share expertise and
resources across the continuum of pediatric education.
Educational Guidelines
Exciting things are in the works for the APA Educational Guidelines Project. Discussion is ongoing on how
this project can best HELP PROGRAMS RESPOND TO future educational CHANGES including the

Milestones Project, anticipated new RRC Program requirements and teaching and learning across the
continuum of pediatric education (including medical students and fellows). We are looking for dedicated
individuals interested in working with the transition team, specifically someone with technology skills to
continue the wonderful work by the founding members of the team as we transition this project over the
coming year. Please contact me if you would like more information. Of special note, 2 articles from the APA
Educational Guidelines Project founding team members will be published in Academic Medicine in fall of
2009. These papers are examples of the great work that has already been accomplished.
We need your input as we revise the Educational Guidelines for Pediatric Residency to keep abreast of new
ACGME initiatives. Please contact Teri Turner who is leading the transition team at [email protected]
with your ideas.
Potential Collaboration with MedEdPORTAL
MedEdPORTAL has offered to partner with the APA to post a collection of educational resources. They are
proposing to offer partnership at the Supporter Level without any cost to the APA.
Partnering with MEP Provides the APA with:
Access to a proven platform through which an organization can develop and deliver peer-reviewed teaching and
assessment resources that serve their organization members and health educators and learners around the globe.
Training on the development, use, and evaluation of academic resources that serve the teaching and learning
needs of partner organizations.
Opportunity to offer peer reviewed collections of online resources in a particular area.
Contribute to and share the existing pool of over 700 expert peer reviewers from around the globe.

We are actively recruiting an Associate Editor to help manage the peer reviewers and peer review
process of all resources submitted by the organizations membership.
Please contact Mary Ottolini at [email protected] if interested in being an Associate Editor for the APA- it is an
excellent way to advance your career as a clinician-educator!
Ray Helfer Award
Congratulation to: Dorene Balmer, Christina Master, and Angelo Giardino for their qualitative study
entitled: Implicit Versus Explicit Curricula in General Pediatrics: Is There a Convergence?
Educational Scholars Program
21 Scholars from the first cohort graduated this year at PAS- Congratulations to the scholars, as well as
mentors, faculty advisors and to the ESP Executive Committee (Connie Baldwin, Latha Chandran, David
Keller and Maryellen Gusic). The current scholars and new cohort of 24 pediatric hospitalists, generalists and
specialists participated in a day long educational seminar at PAS on Tuesday May 5th. The quality and variety
of scholar projects is amazing. Many presented their work at PAS. Please see Dr. Baldwins ESP supplement
for details.
Dont Forget PEEAC is the Answer
For learning to: 1) Incorporate efficient and effective teaching strategies into daily practice; 2) Apply a sound
framework in creating curricula for learners; 3) Choose valid assessment methods and tools to evaluate learners;
4) Provide effective feedback to enhance learner performance; and 5) Disseminate your educational work. Join
as at the Pediatric Educational Excellence Across the Continuum or PEEAC, September 11 and 12, 2009 at
the Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, VA. The conference is sponsored and endorsed by the APPD, CoPS,
APA and COMSEP.
Pediatric Hospital Medicine Strategic Planning Roundtable
The Society of Hospital Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Academic Pediatric Association
sponsored a strategic planning meeting in February 2009 that brought 22 experts in pediatric hospital medicine

together to discuss the future of pediatric hospital medicine. Details of the meeting are available on the
Hospitalist Medicine SIG webpage.
Pediatric Hospitalist Competencies:
Erin Stuckey, Jen Maniscalco and Mary Ottolini are editing and finalizing Competencies for Pediatric
Hospitalists. The competencies are divided into the following areas: Clinical, Education, Research and Systems
(Quality). There will be two levels of competency- a general level for all hospitalists and an advanced level for
fellowship training.
Pediatric Hospitalist Medicine Annual Meeting:
July 23-26
Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina
Tampa, FL
Education Committee Chair:
Mary Ottolini

Research Committee Report

Membership of the Executive Committee of the Research Committee now includes: Glenn Flores, (Chair),
Peter Szilagyi, Debra Bogen, Iris Borowsky, Dimitri Christakis, Bill Cooper, Benard Dreyer, Ruth Etzel,
Jim Guevera, Donna Halloran, Larry Kleinman, Chris Landrigan, Iris Mabry, Cynthia Minkovitz,
Shirley Russ, Janet Serwint, Samir Shah, Adam Spanier, Raj Srivastava, Christopher Stille, Karen
Wilson, and Whitney Witt. The Executive Committee holds monthly conference calls and has subcommittees
that work on individual activities throughout the year. Connie Mackay, the Associate Director of the National
Office of the APA, has provided a great deal of support to the Executive Committee. Thanks, Connie!
The Research Committee met at the 2009 PAS Meeting in Baltimore on May 3, 2009. There were 74+
attendees, which resulted in an exciting meeting with vibrant interactions. After introductions, the Committee
welcomed the new Chair of the Research Committee, Glenn Flores, from UT Southwestern and Childrens
Medical Center Dallas. A discussion ensued regarding the organizational structure and membership of the
Committee and Executive Committee. The outgoing Chair, Benard Dreyer, then discussed the Young
Investigators Grants (YIGs), including results of this years funding cycle for regular APA- and AHRQ-funded
awards, and the first cohort of YIG national facilitators. Cynthia Minkovitz detailed the Commonwealth YIG
and Mentorship for Research in Preventive and Developmental Services for 0-5 year-olds, including results of
this years funding cycle, and discussed program meetings and national facilitators. Judy Shaw spoke about the
MCHB Bright Futures Young Investigator Grants, including the results of this years funding cycle, and
discussed of program meetings and national facilitators. Karen Wilson presented the intriguing findings to date
regarding the follow-up study of the Young Investigator Grants.
Mark Schuster was announced as the winner of the 2009 APA Research Award. Congratulations Mark! Lou
Bell provided details about the Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship consultation and accreditation process.
A stimulating discussion then ensued about practice-based and multicenter research networks and the role of the
APA Research Committee. Presentations were delivered regarding CORNET by Janet Serwint, regarding
PRIS by Chris Landrigan, regarding PROS by Mort Wasserman, and regarding PECARN by Nate
Kuppermann.
The next portion of the meeting was devoted to liaisons, funding agency, and other national reports. Bonnie
Ramsey and Jennifer Puck spoke about the CTSA Consortium Child Health Oversight Committee (CC-CHOC).
Peter Scheidt discussed the National Childrens Study. Duane Alexander provided an update on NICHD,

Denise Dougherty gave a report on AHRQ, Chris DeGraw spoke about HRSA-MCHB, and Bill Barbaresi
talked about the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.
Benard Dreyer summarized the results of a study by several Executive Committee members which evaluated
the PAS abstract review process. The study findings were presented as a platform presentation at the 2009 PAS
meetings in a presentation entitled, PAS Abstract Reviews: Can Simple Strategies To Improve Interrater
Agreement of Reviews of General Pediatrics Abstracts Increase the Reliability of Average Scores?
The final portion of the meeting was devoted to new business, including potential workshops to be sponsored by
Research Committee at next years PAS meeting, suggestions for new areas of focus, and new projects for the
committee to consider.
If you have an interest in joining the Research Committee, please contact me! All APA members are invited,
from trainees to senior faculty. We have a monthly conference call during the year for our Executive
Committee, which is open to anyone interested in year-long involvement, as well as subcommittees working on
specific projects. If you are interested, or have any questions, contact me
at
[email protected].
Research Committee Chair:
Glenn Flores
[email protected]

Public Policy & Advocacy Committee

The Public Policy & Advocacy Committee had an excellent gathering at PAS. We had two great presentations
on navigating a changing political landscape. Karen Hendricks, APAs Governmental Affairs Coordinator,
shared strategies on how to advocate for children in the era of health reform. Patrick Conway, Chief Medical
Officer at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Executive Director of the Federal
Coordinating Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research, provided an inside perspective on how DHHS is
approaching the prospect of health reform.
Lisa Chamberlain received the Public Policy & Advocacy Award. Lisa is an Assistant Professor in the
Division of General Pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Childrens
Hospital. The award was for Lisas outstanding contributions to child advocacy. Specifically, it recognized
her efforts to make child advocacy training an integral part of all pediatric residency programs and to coordinate
residency programs across California and the nation. Congratulations to Lisa!
Public Policy & Advocacy Committee Chair:
Mark Schuster
[email protected]

Program Reports
Academic General Pediatric Accreditation Program
The Academic General Pediatric Accreditation Program:
Encouraging Applications
The Academic General Pediatric Accreditation Committee (AGPAC) had a productive meeting while attending
the 2009 PAS meeting in Baltimore.

As an APA Core activity our mission is to strengthen fellowship training in Academic General Pediatrics. By
disseminating a set of standards for academic training and implement a rigorous, fair review process, fellowship
programs will be strengthened and improved though accreditation. By enhancing the education of fellows we
hope to attract outstanding residents to the disciplines of Academic General Pediatrics, thereby strengthening its
unique roles in academic medicine.
Fellowship programs that focus on health services research, clinical effectiveness, quality and safety,
community pediatrics, environmental health, hospital medicine and academic general pediatrics are all
encouraged to apply for accreditation. In addition to accreditation, there is a consultation service that will help
divisions that are thinking of starting a fellowship training program or wish to have an evaluation and site visit
prior to applying for accreditation.
Based on feedback from those fellowship programs participating in the accreditation process (we have received
six applications for accreditation and one application for consultation in the first cycle) we will improve the
application process with a redesign of the Program Description form and other documents.
Information concerning the accreditation program and all documents required for an application can be found
on the website (www.academicpeds.org) under the education section. AGPAC is currently completing the review
of the current applications and will announce the accreditation decisions in the APAs August newsletter.
All those in the APA family with fellowship programs are encouraged to apply.
Members of the AGPAC are:
Raymond Baker
Connie Baldwin
Lou Bell (Chair)
Dan Coury
Paul Darden
Marge Degnon
Tom DeWitt
Benard Dreyer
Steve Ludwig (past-chair)
Mary Ottolini
Peter Szilagyi
Teri Turner
Please call or email Lou Bell, MD Division Chief of General Pediatrics, The Childrens Hospital of
Philadelphia (215-590-1964 or [email protected]) or Marge Degnon, Executive Director, Academic
Pediatric Association (703-556-9222 or [email protected])
AGP Program Chair
Louis M. Bell

Educational Scholars Program

At PAS, the Educational Scholars Program (ESP) proudly graduated 21 scholars from the first ESP cohort. We
also welcomed a new cohort of 24 scholars, including 16 hospitalists, and 6 new hospitalist faculties to serve as
advisors to the new group. We are pleased to note that 49 presentations at PAS were given by ESP scholars.

For those aspiring to have educational careers that are built on a strong foundation of scholarship, consider an
application to the ESP this year. Another cohort of 18 scholars from any pediatric discipline will be selected
in the fall. The online application website will open on July 1, and applications will be accepted until October 1.
The application includes a personal statement, a 2-page project proposal, your CV, letters of reference including
one from your mentor, and a guarantee by your supervisor of 10% time protection and a $5000 enrollment fee.
New scholars will attend the ESP program session at PAS on the final day of the meeting (Tuesday, May 4,
2009 in Vancouver, BC).
The ESP is a three year faculty development program which includes didactic and interactive activities, and
experiential learning through completion of a mentored educational research or evaluation project. All
participants who complete the required activities, including a peer reviewed publication or presentation on a
completed project, receive a Certificate of Excellence in Educational Scholarship at the conclusion of the
program.
The ESP is described in more detail at: http://www.ambpeds.org/education/education_scholars_program.cfm
For information about applying to the program in 2009, contact Connie Mackay at [email protected].
EPS Program Chair
Connie Baldwin

Liaison Reports
Primary Care Organizations Consortium (PCOC)
American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC)
Hosts Primary Care Organizations Consortium Meeting
in
Washington, DC
March 10, 2009
Minutes Summary
Attendees:
Tammy Barboza, American Medical Student Association
Nathaniel Beers, American Academy of Pediatrics
Tina Cheng, Academic Pediatric Association
Tyler Cymet, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
Will Dardani, Association of American Medical Colleges
Susan Eads Role, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
Bruce Gould, Associate/Assistant Deans of Primary Care
Atul Grover, Association of American Medical Colleges
Karen Hendricks, American Academy of Pediatrics (Legislative)
Lauren Hughes, American Medical Student Association
Ayah Johnson, Division of Medicine and Dentistry, Bureau of Health Professions
David Karlson, Society of General Internal Medicine
Hal Lawrence, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Dan Mareck, Division of Medicine and Dentistry, Bureau of Health Professions

DavidMeyers,AgencyforHealthcareResearchandQuality
Raul Mirza, Student Osteopathic Medical Association
John Pascoe, Academic Pediatric Association (PCOC Steering Committee)
Burt Routman, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (PCOC Steering Committee)
Steve Shannon, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
Niraj Sharma, Medicine Pediatric Program Directors Association
Monica Sifuentes, Association of Pediatric Program Directors
Jean Silver-Isenstadt, National Physicians Alliance (Observer)
Wally Smith, Society of General Internal Medicine (PCOC Steering Committee)
Brenda Williamson, Division of Medicine and Dentistry, Bureau of Health Professions
For the first time in its twenty year history, the AAMC hosted a bi-annual meeting of PCOC. The meeting
began with John (Jack) Pascoe thanking Atul Grove and Will Dardani of AAMC for hosting the meeting.
1. Following the introductions, Dr. Pascoe briefly reviewed PCOCs accomplishments over its twenty years of
existence for many first-time representatives. For example, PCOC organizations and U.S. medical schools have
received millions of dollars from HRSA to fund two national interdisciplinary primary care medical education
projects and hundreds of thousands of dollars to implement several national meetings that addressed critically
important medical education and patient care topics, such as the 2008 AHRQ funded primary care patient
safety/HIT conference that was endorsed by PCOC organizations and run by the Academic Pediatric
Associations administrative staff. Recently, PCOC leaders, convened by Rich Antonelli, a member of the
AAP and the APA, facilitated the creation of an interdisciplinary Patient Centered Medical Home statement that
was endorsed by the American Osteopathic Association, American College of Physicians, American Academy
of Family Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
2. The October 2008 Second National Primary Care Patient Safety/Health Information Technology
(HIT)Conference was reviewed. Most session evaluations were very positive-mostly 4 and 5 (4-very good, 5excellent). The group discussed strategies to continue to reach out across disciplines for future conferences,
specifically a national conference that would focus on patient safety/HIT and the medical home. The timing of
such a conference was discussed and implementing the conference as a one-day pre-institute before the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Annual Conference appeared to have the most support. Dr. Rich
Antonelli, from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has expressed interest in leading PCOC efforts
related to a medical home conference, but was not able to attend this meeting.
3. Jean Silver-Isenstadt, National Physicians Alliance (NPA) reported as a PCOC observer. The NPA was
founded in 2005 as a patient-centered interdisciplinary advocacy organization. The group discussed shared area
of emphasis/advocacy with PCOC organizations these might include industry influence on medicine, secure
healthcare for all and campaigns to register voters for future elections.
4. Tina Cheng, Academic Pediatric Association (APA), noted that the APA has a program (Rx:Vote) to enable
pediatricians to assist parents to register to vote. The APA has teamed with the AAP to craft a research agenda
to eliminate child health disparities. The summary of a recent meeting will be published in Pediatrics. APA
leaders are also working with other organizations (e.g. SGIM) on the Patient Centered Medical Home.
5. Lauren Hughes and Tammy Barboza, American Medical Student Association (AMSA) reviewed a number
of AMSA activities and initiatives, including AMSA Academy where students can take courses to learn more
about healthcare policy, AMSA leaders are now in merger discussions with the International Federation of
Medical Students Associations. A future issue of AMSAs journal will be published in cooperation with the
New England Journal of Medicine. National Primary Care Week is now funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation. AMSA leaders are interested in working with PCOC representatives on a Primary Care
Mentorship Program.

6. David Meyers, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Dr. Meyers received kudos from PCOC
members for his recent appointment as the new Director, Center for Primary Care, Prevention and Clinical
Partnerships (CP3). AHRQ staff anticipate increased funding with the new administration. Within the recently
passed Federal Recovery Act there is an emphasis on primary care that includes $1.1 billion for comparative
effectiveness research. With the new budget Dr. Meyers encouraged PCOC members to submit applications,
including career development awards (K08)-over $1 million each year is set aside for this program within
AHRQ. Dr. Meyers also asked for nominees for AHRQ study sections and the U.S. Preventive Services Task
Force. A new AHRQ office will assist small practices to adopt Health IT. AHRQ will be supporting a summer
conference on the Medical Home and transforming primary care.
7. Karen Hendricks, Department of Federal Affairs, American Academy of Pediatrics, noted the SCHIP
reauthorization and the Economic Stimulus Package. The Economic Stimulus Package includes $10.4 billion
for NIH, $300 for the National Health Service Corp and $200 million for primary care medicine and dentistry.
There is $2 billion for Community Health Centers construction, health IT and other grants. Within the Omnibus
Spending Bill there is a 14% increase for Title VII funding. The Presidents 2010 Budget has a $1.75 trillion
deficit and among the areas to receive increases includes nursing schools, health education and training.
8. Burt Routman, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, reported that during DO Day on the
Hill representatives lobbied for $1 million to start new residency programs in primary care and surgery. Over
50% of DO graduates go into a primary care career and the osteopathic community is working on increasing the
number of DO residency position available.
9. Atul Grover and Will Dardani, Association of American Medical Colleges. PCOC members congratulated
Dr. Grover on his recent appointment as the associations chief advocacy officer and thanked him again for his
support of PCOC. Graduate Medical Education is a new area of emphasis at the AAMC and two new position
statements are available on the AAMC website: Principles for Healthcare Reform: A Guide for Policy Makers
and The Medical Home. The AAMC is completing a primary care workforce analysis that will include survey
results re: preparedness for health care reform.
10. Raul Mirza, Student Osteopathic Medical Association, reports that the organization is going through a restructuring process that will include a re-organization of the website that will improve the student clerkship
search engine. Student Doctor Mirza described a number of programs that enable SOMA members to give back
to their communities.
11. Niraj Sharma, Medicine Pediatric Program Directors Association, reported that MPPDA will celebrate 40
years at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition this fall. Transition care has become a major issue for
MPPDA including advocacy, curriculum development and clinical program development. Due to AMSA and
MPPDA involvement with PCOC, there will be a MPPDA table and speaker at this years AMSA Annual
Meeting in Washington, DC.
12. David Karlson, Executive Director, Society of General Internal Medicine, noted that leaders of SGIM are
strongly supporting research to assess the effectiveness of the Medical Home. He also noted that SGIM is
working with the Society of Hospitalist Medicine to create a generalist research tract within internal medicine
residencies.
13. Dan Mareck, Chief, Division of Medicine and Dentistry and Brenda Williamson, Chief of Primary Care
Education, Division of Medicine and Dentistry (DMD), Bureau of Health Professions noted that Dr. Mareck
had only been on the job a few months and was preparing to share his DMD priorities with the new HRSA
Director. Brenda Williamson took several minutes to summarize the Title VII applications and awards made in
2008. There was no update available as of March 2009 on the status of the Title VII application process in
2009.

14. Tyler Cymet and Steve Shannon, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine. PCOC
representatives thanked Dr. Shannon for hosting PCOC in Fall 2009 at the AACOM offices in Chevy Chase,
just outside Washington DC. They noted that as the number of osteopathic medical schools increase in number
clinical sites from medical student education has become a major issue. AACOM also has a strong advocacy
effort to support federal funding for primary care education and high quality health services.
15. Monica Sifuentes, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, reported that IOM recommendations
regarding duty hours for residents is a major focus of APPD leaders at this time. For the first time in the history
of both organizations the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) and APPD leaders
will meet in Baltimore prior to the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting.
16. Nathaniel Beers (substituting for Rich Antonelli), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), described how
the AAP is working to implement the Patient (some would write Family) Centered Medical Home into
clinical practice. He also touched on the AAPs support of Title VII funding.
There being no further business, following a final word of thanks to the AAMC, the meeting was adjourned by
Dr. Smith at 2:30 PM.
Next PCOC meeting: Friday, September 25, 2009
Offices of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
Chevy Chase, MD
Submitted by
Jack Pascal

Region Reports
Region I
The Baltimore meeting was exciting, vibrant, and packed with information, as evidenced by all the fascinating
ideas and facts that people recalled at our Regional breakfast. Over 40 people attended the breakfast, and once
issues of cold coffee and inadequate seating were resolved, the co-chairs discussed plans for the regional
meeting and for future communication. David Keller, the APA treasurer, gave a rousing speech about the state
of the APA, and elicited discussion regarding industry-funding. He also took the opportunity to remind
everyone about the PEEAC (Pediatric Educational Excellence Across the Continuum) conference taking place
in VA in September, as well as next years PAS meetings in Vancouver, when the APA will be turning 50!
Our own regional meeting will be taking place on October 23, 2009 so SAVE THE DATE! We are still
evaluating locations. Plans include a keynote speech, reports from the national APA and from attendees of
PEEAC, presentation of original abstracts in clinical science, advocacy, quality improvement, or educational
research, and possibly a workshop or two. We will be eliciting abstracts in the early part of the summer.
We will also be eliciting nominations for co-chair. We have determined, through discussions at the meetings
and with the National Chair for Regions and Membership, that we will be moving to a 3-chair, 3-year term for
each co-chair in order to enhance continuity and split the work up more.
Lastly, wed like to keep in better touch. Pretty soon, well be inviting you to a Facebook group especially
created for Region I members, as well as a listserv via the APA site. Please send us submissions for the
newsletter via email we want to know what youre thinking about!
Your loyal region co-chairs,
Ada Fenick
[email protected]

Bruce Bernstein
[email protected]

Region II
We had a great Region II breakfast at the PAS this year. In addition to the usual announcements about the
upcoming PAS date (May 1-4, 2010), place (Vancouver) and topic (50th anniversary of the APA!) we had a
summary of our very successful regional meeting (which was summarized in our last newsletter). Danielle
Laraque, our new APA National President (and a member of Region II), let us know about her work in
facilitating the creation of a policy on the APAs relationship to industry and industry support. We let people
know about the new website (www.academicpeds.org). Finally, we distributed a needs assessment to prepare for our
upcoming regional meeting in March of 2010.
We also announced the deadline for the Young Investigator Award for our region. Our Young Investigator
coordinator is Sylvia Lim. Please submit proposals by June 19, 2009. If you would like a description of the
format for proposals, please email Sylvia Lim at [email protected]. In addition, we need volunteers to review
the Young Investigator Award proposals. If you are interested, please email Sylvia or either of us.
Please look in your email for our needs assessment for our upcoming regional meeting. If you already
completed one at the PAS regional breakfast, you need not complete another one. So far it seems that the
following topics are quite popular: Teaching in the Clinical Setting (Five Minute Preceptor), Coping with
Challenging Learners, Medical Education Research, Leadership Skills, Legislative Work, and Resident Training
in Advocacy. We are planning for the meeting to be in New York City this year, either at Cornell University or
New York University. It will be on Friday, March 19th or Friday, March 26th. Please let us know if you want to
help us put the meeting together.
If you have any other comments or suggestions or questions or just want to get involved but arent sure how,
please dont hesitate to drop us an email.
Your trusty Region II Co-Chairs,
Cindy Osman
[email protected]

Suzy Tomopoulos
[email protected]

Region III
Region III is the exciting region which comprises Upstate New York, Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia,
and Ontario. Despite our relatively small size, we are an active region and have had a busy year.
We held our Region III breakfast during the PAS and APA Annual Meetings in Baltimore in May. It was a
small but intimate group with a useful discussion and a warm welcome. There was representation from most
centers in our region. Peter Szilagyi (Rochester) spoke about the exciting future of the Academic Pediatric
Association and Academic Pediatrics. Connie Baldwin (Rochester) updated us on the continuing activities of
the Educational Scholars Program. Maryellen Gusic (Hershey) reported on the Pediatric Education Excellence
Across the Continuum (PEAAC) which will be held in September in Arlington, VA. This is an intensive
workshop to help faculty develop their teaching and leadership skills.
Many members of Region III were involved in presenting workshops and abstracts; we gave encouragement to
Sara Eleoff (Rochester) who was the co-winner at the regional meeting and was going to give her oral
presentation of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Among Children in Kinship Care and Foster Care.

We discussed trying to increase our membership for this region. There are fifteen academic centers in our
Region (New York 3, Pennsylvania 3, West Virginia 2, Ontario 6) and we will send a letter with
information about the APA and application forms to each of these centers. Please let us know who you think
might be interested.
We discussed the annual regional meeting, which in the past few years has been a joint meeting with Region II
held in New York or Philadelphia. These are excellent opportunities to network locally and regionally. We
discussed whether it would be possible at some time to hold the regional meeting in Region III. Although there
are a lot of submitted abstracts from trainees and members in Region III, attendees at the regional meeting are
predominantly from Region II. Also, logistically, it is probably easier to travel to New York or Philadelphia,
than one of our Region III centers. If you have any thoughts or suggestions, please let us know. There is a
tentative invitation to hold next years regional meeting at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New
York.
Academic general pediatrics is changing and evolving and we need your suggestions, your input and your
participation.
Respectfully,
Region Co-Chairs
Bob Hilliard
[email protected]

Carrin Schottler-Thal
[email protected]

Region IV
We had a successful meeting at PAS this year. The regional breakfast was well attended and we had a great
discussion on activities for the region moving forward so stay tuned. We recognized 3 distinguished members
of our region Ken Roberts (Moses Cone Health System) for receiving the Joseph W. St. Geme Leadership
Award from the Federation of Pediatric Organizations, Denice Cora-Bramble (Childrens National Medical
Center) for receiving the Health Care Delivery Award from the APA and Janet Serwint (Johns Hopkins), our
President-Elect for the APA. In addition, we have been fortunate to have the leadership of Tina Cheng (Johns
Hopkins) during her term as APA President.
Gail Cohen (Wake Forest) completed her term as Regional Co-Chair, but remains actively involved. Many
thanks to Gail for her wonderful leadership. She will continue to provide guidance to the current co-chairs.
Rachel Dodge (Johns Hopkins) is the new regional co-chair joining Ivor Horn, as she continues in her position
as regional co-chair.
Membership in the region continues to grow. To encourage increased participation and membership, please
invite colleagues, faculty members, fellows, and residents to consider applying for membership. If you are
interested in serving as a recruiter for Region IV at your home institution, let us know.
SAVE THE DATE for next years regional meeting: February 20-21, 2010 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Kantahynee Murray (Johns Hopkins) and Rachel St. John (Georgetown) agreed to serve as our meeting cochairs. We will continue the successful format started this year with our Meet the Professors Breakfast and the
Resident QI/QA Poster Symposium. We hope to expand these events as opportunities for mentorship and
resident presentations, respectively so please let people at your institution know about these activities and
encourage them to attend!

Region Co-Chairs
Ivor Horn
[email protected]

Rachel Dodge
[email protected]

Region V
Hello APA Region V members! Thank you to all who came to the Region V Breakfast in Baltimore to hear our
Trainee Abstract Competition winners present their excellent research. Congratulations to all trainees who had
work accepted to this year's PAS meeting. All current medical students, residents and fellows can look forward
to another opportunity to submit their work by the PAS abstract deadline which this year will be in November,
earlier than usual.
We are in the final stages of planning an outstanding Region V Meeting in Cincinnati on Thursday, September
24. Please look to your email and our Region V webpage soon for an electronic brochure. The theme is
advocacy. The session will include two keynote addresses, one by APA President, Danielle Laraque. Also,
you can expect invited advocacy-related project and research posters, workshops and a brief Region V business
meeting. CME will be available for this conference. Consider staying in Cincinnati for the Regional Educational
Scholarship Conference to be held Friday and Saturday, September 25 and 26.
We are the second largest region in the APA, but would love to grow in strength. Please consider inviting your
colleagues to join the APA and obtain access to all of the wonderful resources that are available to you.
Lastly, we have an excellent opportunity for someone in the region to be nominated as Region V Co-chair. This
is a great chance to get involved in regional leadership. Senior members, please consider nominating a junior
faculty member. If you have questions about the duties of this position or if you want to nominate or selfnominate, please contact us.
Region Co-Chairs
Bill Stratbucker
[email protected]

Shalini Forbis
[email protected]

Adam Spanier
[email protected]

Region VII
We return now from Baltimore reinvigorated and primed to move forward with a vast array of new and useful
information. Those in attendance were treated to a delightful assortment of platform presentations as well as
insightful and useful workshops. It was a pleasure to see new young faces, encouraged by feedback from their
more experienced mentors, as they presented their work.
Breakfast for region VII was an opportunity to discuss the business of the region and put forth new ideas as we
plan for our future. We were fortunate to have brief reports from each of the APA committees presented by
members of our region. We would like to thank Glenn Flores, the Chair of the Research Committee who also
served as the national leadership member, for attending our breakfast and giving a report on the current national
APA concerns and interests.

Lastly, we offer our heartfelt thanks to our out-going Co-Chair, Teresa Duryea, for her tireless work and
thoughtful insight into a myriad of issues over the last 3 years. We now welcome our new Co- Chair Shelly
Baldwin. We look forward to working together over the next year.
Region Co-Chairs
Charles Kantrow
[email protected]

Marny Dunlap
[email protected]

Region VIII
Were just back from a wonderful Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Baltimore, Maryland and
besides great crab cakes, the meeting was educational, fun and a great opportunity to recharge ones
batteries! Next years meeting will be in Vancouver and marks the APAs 50th Anniversary, we hope
as many of you will make it!
At this years regional breakfast, we were a total of 18 members, including board representative
Marilyn Dumont-Driscoll. One particular topic of interest was next years regional meeting to be held
Feb 25-27, 2010 in New Orleans. We are looking for ways to increase attendees and make it an even
more worthwhile meeting, with additional input from more senior APA members and department
chairmen to act as mentors and project reviewers. Another hot topic is pharmaceutical industry money
and how it will be regulated. The APA is drafting its own guidelines, and member input is encouraged.
We were also encouraged to check out the re-designed website and send suggestions to Franklin
Trimm or Donna DAlessandro. On a positive note, particularly for educators, the APA will be
linking with MedEdPORTAL! Also, joint ventures with APPD and COMSEP for 4th year sub internship
clerkship curriculum and revised trainee guidelines are in progress.
Three educational opportunities are also coming up soon. The first is the 2009 Pediatric Hospital
Medicine meeting to be held in Tampa, Florida from July 23-26. Next is the Pediatric Educational
Excellence Across the Continuum (PEEAC) Conference to be held September 11 and 12, 2009 at the
Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, VA. Finally, the fourth cohort of Educational Scholars will be
sought in the fall, so start thinking of projects or potential scholars. On a related note, the first cohort
graduated 21 persons this year at PAS, each of whom received their Certificate of Excellence in
Educational Scholarshipcongratulations to them all!
Respectfully submitted,
Region Co-Chairs:
Jennfer Takagishi
[email protected]

Jimmy Roberts
[email protected]

Judy Theriot
[email protected]

Region IX & X
Our Region Breakfast meeting in Baltimore was a fun opportunity to hear APA Board updates from Michael
Cabana, including discussions of phasing out Pharma participation in future PAS meetings. We also had the
chance to congratulate the four outstanding trainees who received travel awards, selected from the 2009 Region
IX and X meeting in Monterey this past January. Awardees were Naomi Bardach (UCSF), Anisha Patel
(UCLA), John Peoples (Stanford), and Angelika Valdez (University of Utah). Of note, these travel awards
will henceforth be named the Paul Young New Scholar Travel Award, to honor Dr. Youngs longstanding
commitment to mentoring young scholars. The agenda also included discussion of turnover in leadership and
planning our upcoming Regional Meeting in 2010. Tremendous gratitude was expressed to outgoing chair,
Greg Blaschke, from Region IX. Christine Johnson, from Naval Medical Center San Diego, was nominated
as the new co-chair for Region IX.
Our Joint Region IX and X Meeting, the Pediatric CARE (Community, Advocacy, Research and
Education) Conference, will be on Saturday, January 30, 2010 in Monterey, California at the Naval Post
Graduate School (the Western Society for Pediatric Research (WSPR) region meeting is also nearby during that
week). Residents or fellows who present posters or platform presentations at the Pediatric CARE Conference
will be eligible for the Paul Young New Scholar Travel Award (small travel stipends to support attendance at
the national PAS conference). We will continue with the same format of oral presentations as well as Works
in Progress poster session for residents/fellows who would like feedback from faculty on their projects. The
call for abstracts will be coming out later this summer (expected in mid October).
We welcome any feedback or ideas for APA regional activities, either locally or at the national meeting. Please
feel free to contact your Region Chair.
Region IX Co-Chairs:
Christine Johnson
[email protected]

Alice Kuo
[email protected]

Region X Co-Chairs:
Patricia Barreto
[email protected]

Elizabeth Miller
[email protected]

Special Interest Group Reports

Advocacy Training SIG
Thank you to all who participated in the Advocacy Training Special Interest Group meeting in Baltimore.
Thanks again to the Community Pediatric Training Initiative for sponsoring a wonderful breakfast. There was
great participation and interaction amongst the attendees. Our theme of the meeting was Creating Academic
Careers as Child Advocates.
Our key note address was Doing Advocacy and Getting Your Work Published by Howard Bauchner, the
Editor in Chief of Archives of Disease in Childhood, the Pediatric Journal of British Medical Journal (BMJ).
He offered a lot of great ideas of non traditional types of articles and ways to research good journal choices.

(We had a last minute speaker change with Josh Sharfstein, MD becoming the Assistant FDA commissioner.
Thank you, Dr Bauchner!)
The crux of our meeting was an interactive workshop, Making your Advocacy Count in Promotion and
Tenure, by Cathy Jordan, Director of the Children Youth and Family Consortium at the University of
Minnesota, who also is one of the authors of the Community-Engaged Scholarship Toolkit from CommunityCampus Partnerships for Health (http://www.communityengagedscholarship.info/). Attendees were put to work on
mock promotion and tenure committees, highlighting the importance of capturing and framing ones advocacy
work within the context of the academic arena.
Last but not least, we had our Resident Community Health and Advocacy Poster and Presentations - the
spotlight and the highlight of the SIG! Three residents gave oral presentations: John Peoples, MD from
Stanford, Angie Valdez, MD from the University of Utah and Anna Fishbein, MD from Childrens Memorial
Hospital. Nineteen residents presented posters.
Some suggestions for future meetings include: addressing how community health and advocacy training
programs occur within residencies, learning from the wisdom of lobbyists, and broadening our scope by linking
with medical students and other pediatric specialties engaged in advocacy. We look forward to incorporating the
feedback and wonderful ideas raised at our SIG meeting for the 2010 meeting in Vancouver!
SIG Co-Chairs:
Allison Brindle
[email protected]

Anda Kuo
[email protected]

Megan Sandel
[email protected]

Child Abuse SIG

This year, the child abuse SIG focused exclusively on the issue of child abuse prevention. The speakers who
were invited to present on primary prevention all have great expertise in the field, and represented different
approaches to the goal of preventing child abuse, which allowed for an important discussion of the topic. In our
first session, David Olds, Anne Duggan and Bob Ammerman presented data on Nurse Family Partnership and
Healthy Families America programs as models of primary child abuse prevention, and discussed research
related to program evaluation and improvement. After a short break, Wendy Lane presented what we know
about the prevention of abusive head trauma, and Howard Dubowitz discussed child abuse prevention in
pediatric practice. Overall, it was a great session with a lot of participation. I would like to thank each of our
presenters, who took the time and effort to provide thoughtful, data driven presentations to our eager audience.
a.
The Child Abuse SIG was held on Sunday, May 3, 2009 from 8-11 AM. The agenda for the SIG was as
follows:
8:00-9:45
Primary Prevention of Child Abuse
David Olds
Anne Duggan
Bob Ammerman
9:45-10:00
Mingle and network
10:00-10:30 Prevention of Abusive Head Trauma
Wendy Lane, MD
10:30-11:00 The Pediatricians role in child abuse prevention
Howard Dubowitz, MD

This year, the Child Abuse SIG focused exclusively on the issue of child abuse prevention. The speakers who
were invited to present on primary prevention all have great expertise in the field, and represented different
approaches to the goal of preventing child abuse, which allowed for an important discussion of the topic. The
discussions of head trauma prevention and prevention in pediatric practice provided excellent overviews for the
audience. Overall, it was a great session with a lot of participation.
b.

There were approximately 27 physicians who attended the session. More than half of the participants
were members of the APA. The following is a list of participants at the SIG:

Cindy Christian, MD
David Rubin, MD
Lori Legano, MD
Kimberly Schwartz, MD
Cynthia DeLago, MD
Megan Bair-Merritt, MD
John Leventhal, MD
George Edwards, MD
Emalee Flaherty, MD
Scott Krugman, MD
Suzanne Dakil, MD
Kristine Fortin, MD
Prina Amin, MD
Celeste Wilson, MD

Alicia Pekarsky, MD
Melinda Clark, MD
Roberta Hibbard, MD
Cathereine DeRidder, MD
Bob Sege, MD
Tamara Grigsby, MD
Moira Szilagyi, MD
Katherine Melhorn, MD
Lynn Sheets, MD
Peggy Kappy, MD
Phil Scribano, MD
Ingrid Halker-Descartes, MD
David Turkewitz, MD

The Child Abuse SIG did not sponsor additional research or hold meetings outside of PAS. However, the Child
Abuse SIG is considered by physicians who participate in child protection an important annual forum for
education at the meeting. I did not require APA funds for this years SIG, as our presenters did not require
support or travel expenses. It is important, however, to have funds available to do so, as I have needed them in
the past.
The Child Abuse SIG also held its second platform presentation session. This session, held Tuesday, May 5,
2008, from 8-10 AM, was extremely successful and was well attended. We had active discussions after each
presentation, and the support from the PAS community was great. This year, we are AGAIN requesting a child
abuse POSTER session. There are many child abuse posters accepted at the meeting, but they are scattered in
Emergency medicine, general pediatrics, underserved populations, etc. We would like to have a child abuse
poster session, and hope the APA can assist with this request. As you may know, the American Board of
Pediatrics will make child abuse pediatrics a board certified subspecialty this year, and the ability to have
focused sessions will improve our learning during meetings, and help to promote the field as a subspecialty.
We greatly appreciate having child abuse listed as a track in the beginning of the program book. Could you
please list the SIGs in that listing?
Thank you for your help and support. Personally, I have decided to pass the leadership of this SIG to 2
colleagues who are active with the APA, and who will do a great job in organizing upcoming meetings. Wendy
Lane, MD and Phil Scribano, DO have agreed to assume the chair for the Child Abuse SIG. It has been by
pleasure to lead the child abuse SIG for the last 7 years.
Respectfully submitted,
SIG Chair
Cindy W. Christian
[email protected]

Continuity SIG
The Continuity SIG had another exciting meeting in Baltimore. Opportunities to communicate with each other
and to share information will be enhanced by an updated SIG website as well as the tried and true listserv. As a
reminder,
please
send
any
query
pertaining
to
the
Continuity
SIG
to
[email protected]. CORNET continues to grow and there are a
number of interesting studies in the pipeline for continuity sites who are interested. If you are not a member of
CORNET, please consider joining now! See the CORNET page on the APA website for more information.
The long awaited revision of the Continuity Directors manual is underway; contact Jan Drutz at
[email protected] if you would like to participate in writing the revision. Our small group session dealt with
three challenges for faculty teaching in the continuity setting: documenting the value of the continuity
experience at a time where work hours constrain where residents spend their time, documenting the continuity
experience in a portfolio fashion in addition to critical numbers, and the last group discussed how one might
adapt the continuity experience better to meet work hour requirements. Although there was considerable
overlap, the conversations were vibrant and each of the groups will endeavor to develop their subject lines over
the next several months. We have an opportunity to work with the ACGME and the APPD to influence the next
revision of the RRC Program Requirements. This is tremendously exciting; but isnt that what the Continuity
SIG has been about for the last 19 years? Yes, next year, in addition to being the 50th anniversary of the APA it
will be the 20th anniversary of the Continuity SIG. Plan now to meet in Vancouver in 2010!
SIG Chair
John Olsson
[email protected]

Division Directors SIG

We had a very informative Academic General Pediatric Division Directors Special Interest Group meeting in
May in Baltimore. We focused on 2 topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) and Academic General
Pediatric Fellowship Accreditation. Robert Jacobs, from USC Keck School of Medicine introduced the
audience to their relationship with an FQHC. He discussed the process of development, the parties involved, the
issues they encountered and solutions. John Meurer of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee then
discussed the process they were involved with currently regarding negotiating with and FQHC for their clinic
site in downtown Milwaukee. Eyal Ben-Isaac also of USC Keck, ended the discussion with the effects and
challenges of working with a FQHC and the requirements of a residency program. There was time for
questions and discussions. Following a break we then had a discussion, led by Louis Bell, Childrens Hospital
of Philadelphia regarding the process for Academic General Pediatric Fellowship Accreditation that has been
designed and formalized by the APA. He reviewed the criteria and answered questions. Finally at the end,
Susan Bostwick Weill Cornell Medical College briefly updated the group on the 3rd Annual Leadership
Conference in Academic General Pediatrics and Juan M. Parra, UTHSCSA updated the group on UTHSCSA
work on increasing diversity at all levels at their university.
SIG Co-Chairs:
Susan Bostwick
[email protected]

Juan M. Parra
[email protected]

ELearninginMedicalEducationSIG
Internet technologies and the World Wide Web have brought about new methods of teaching and learning
opportunities, and at the same time, they have brought challenges to medical educators regarding the way we
teach, the way students learn, and the design and delivery of the curriculum. Having expertise and motivation in
the area of online teaching and learning, Kadriye O. Lewis and Raymond C. Baker decided to establish an eLearning SIG in Medical Education for the APA members. Our proposal for E-Learning in Medical Education
has been reviewed and accepted by the Board on March 18, 2008. Since then we have accomplished the
following activities:
Completed Activities:
Website for e-Learning SIG in Medical Education: In October 2008, we developed the content of the Web
site for e-Learning SIG in Medical Education
(http://www.ambpeds.org/specialInterestGroups/sig_eLearning_med_ed.cfm). After the Website eTeam is formed, there
will be more content and resources on this Website.
Surveys - Two SIG surveys were conducted. In March 2008, the first survey was sent to the APA members to
gauge members interests in online learning and the technologies of web-based distance education. The second
survey was sent to the APA members who signed up the e-Learning SIG. This survey was designed to assess
the members current technology skills levels, and online teaching and learning experiences so that the SIG
activities can focus on the needed areas of e-Learning technologies. The results were shared with the attendees
at the first SIG meeting at PAS 2009 in Baltimore.
First SIG Meeting We geared up for an exciting e-Learning SIG meeting at PAS in Baltimore on May 4,
2009. This meeting was very interactive and well received. All the attendees seemed very enthusiastic for our
future collaboration. Some of the participants did brief presentations of home institution e-learning activities.
Participants expressed their expectations that the e-Learning SIG should address topics in the following areas:
Collaborations on Web-based learning initiatives in medical education
New venues for residents and fellows education by implementing e-Learning methods of instruction
New avenues for networking and producing collaborative projects
Online teaching pedagogy including effective delivery methods with detailed information how to do
things in both blended and Web-based learning
Designing and developing effective online instructional materials
Sharing and learning in a collaborative environments with other SIG members
Merging some activities by collaborating with the Faculty Development SIG and the Medical
Informatics SIG
Keeping abreast of the new technologies including expanding their knowledge and practice with Web
2.0 tools (i.e., wikis, blogs, podcasts, RSS)
Open source software and other Web tools for medical education
Copy right and intellectual property issues in online course materials
Tele-medicine and other related technologies in medicine
The e-Learning SIG will cover the above topics systematically in the future meetings. Group communications
and on demand meetings will continue throughout the year.

Ongoing Activities:
Group Structure Before our meeting we structured eTeam groups to organize the future SIG activities in a
more organized manner. We defined four (4) eTeams (i.e., Workshop Planning, Newsletter, Website, and
Research) and identified the roles and responsibilities of these teams. In order to finalize this document we will
share it through Google docs so that we can arrive at a group consensus. Some volunteers have already filled
some of the positions, but there is still room for more.
Distance Collaboration- During the meeting the group has agreed to communicate using some of the Web 2.0
tools. We will develop a Wiki to share resources as well as to communicate with the eTeams.
In brief, e-Learning can offer unprecedented learning opportunities to a larger population of learners than ever
before. In this respect, the SIG will be instrumental in encouraging healthcare professionals to adopt new
instructional delivery modes, to replace the traditional lecture format, and to identify teaching strategies that are
time effective. We will assist the APA members to select the best teaching techniques, redesign their content
and curriculum, incorporate self-directed, student-centered learning, and use computers to meet their learning
objectives.
SIG Co-Chairs
Kadriye Lewis
[email protected]
Raymond C. Baker
[email protected]

Ethics SIG
The Ethics Special Interest Group met on May 4, 2009 from 8:30 11:30 A.M. There were 26 members
attending. The session began with a presentation by Joel Frader on the subject, Clinician Refusal of Care
Based on Claims of Conscience. He noted that the application of collective norms of behavior has been
replaced by some clinicians by the assertion of individual beliefs as a defense for withholding information from
patients and/or families. Dr. John Lantos also addressed this issue. While generally agreeing with Dr. Frader,
he contended that there may be value in physicians acting on the basis of strongly held values. What room is
there for individual conscience claims while demonstrating respect for the values of patients/families? There
was much discussion among the SIG participants.
A business meeting was held to discuss SIG goals and future plans. There was one suggestion to rename the
SIG to the Pediatric Ethics SIG or the Pediatric Bioethics SIG. No consensus was reached. There was
discussion about next years program, and general agreement that the SIG should continue to be a venue for indepth discussion of important topics in bioethics. It was decided that at the 2010 meeting we will spend one
hour on end-of-life care ethics, focusing on the issue of withdrawing or withholding artificial hydration and
nutrition from neonates whose death was expected. Another hour will be devoted to expanded discussion of 2
or 3 abstracts presented or not accepted but felt to be of value for discussion. The third hour will be devoted to
sharing suggestions about the teaching of ethics and professionalism in pediatrics. There was also interest in
discussing the ethics associated with the application of genetic technologies in children, but the other issues
described above were felt to be of more general interest. Ruth Etzel and Ernest Krug asked if there was a
desire to change the chairmanship of the SIG. There appeared to be consensus that they should remain cochairs for 2009-2010.

The next meeting of the SIG is expected to be on Monday, May 3, 2010 in Vancouver, BC.
SIG Co-Chair
Ernest F. Krug, III
[email protected]

Faculty Development SIG

The Faculty Development SIG met in Baltimore at the PAS meetings. Attendees participated in an interactive
workshop titled This Cant Be Happening to Me Critical Incidents in Faculty Development. Workshop
leaders Joe Lopreiato, Lyuba Konopasek, and Miriam Bar-on had the group up and moving around,
considering personal faculty development disasters, role playing and solving problems. Attendees left the
workshop not only with preventive strategies, but also with some tips on managing workshops when it appears
that things maybe getting out of control. A good mix of junior and senior folks promoted lively discussion and
networking.
At the conclusion of the meeting, it was announced that Lyuba Konopasek was stepping down as SIG co-leader
and that Miriam Bar-on would be taking that role, joining Joe Lopreiato and Bob Hilliard as co-chairs. The
SIG is considering activities for during the year and will take advantage of the new APA webpage to post
information. Further, discussion targeting future goals of the SIG was held and a short survey will be sent out to
the membership in the fall.
SIG Co-Chair
Miriam E. Bar-on
[email protected]

Fellowship Training SIG

Thank you to all who attended the Fellowship Training SIG Meeting at the PAS meeting in Baltimore last
month. Both the presentations and group discussion were excellent and informative.
Lou Bell, APA Accreditation Project Committee Chair, presented an overview of the Academic General
Pediatric (AGP) fellowship accreditation program and experience with the program thus far in its debut year.
Seven applications (6 for accreditation, 1 for consultation) were received in this first cycle and will be site
visited. In his presentation, Lou reviewed the 7 absolute requirements for accreditation and common areas
needing improvements found among fellowships participating in the Site Visit Pilot Project. He encouraged
fellowship programs to apply for accreditation (information and documents required are on the APA website).
Connie Baldwin, Accreditation Project Committee Member, presented Planning the Core Curriculum for an
AGP Fellowship. She described a model of curriculum development, the GNOME, referring to goals, needs,
objectives, methods, and evaluation. She shared the helpful real world experiences of the University of
Rochester AGP Fellowship in curriculum development and evaluation, including the goals and objectives and
objective-based evaluation developed for the fellowship.
PowerPoint slides and handouts for these presentations are posted at the Fellowship Training SIG webpage at
the APA website.

SIG Co-Chairs
Paul M. Darden
[email protected]

Iris Borowsky
[email protected]

Hospital Medicine SIG

We had an incredibly successful SIG meeting this year in Baltimore thanks to the great participation and
interaction from the group. Thank you to all of those who could attend. The crowds get bigger each year and
the enthusiasm from the SIG just shows how bright the future is for pediatric hospital medicine!
PHM 2009 Tampa
Dan Rauch led off the meeting with an update on the Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2009 meeting this summer in
Tampa. The program schedule is now completed with a balance of clinical, educational, research, and
leadership sessions. Registration is now open at the APA website. Thanks to the program committee for all of
their effort and planning!
Pediatric Hospital Medicine Roundtable Executive Summary
The majority of the session was dedicated to a very interactive and lively discussion of the recent executive
summary presented by the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Roundtable. Dan Rauch and Jeff Sperring reviewed
the vision statements and initiatives presented in the summary and we appreciate the helpful feedback we
received from the group. The recommendations and comments were noted and presented back to the PHM
Roundtable for their review at the upcoming summer meeting. Members were also encouraged to volunteer for
the new work groups that are being formed to continue the work on the initiatives. If you have any questions
regarding the Roundtable or the summary discussions, please contact Dan or Jeff.
Pediatric Hospital Medicine Core Curriculum
Erin Stuckey and Mary Ottolini gave an update on the PHM Core Curriculum project. The curriculum is now
complete and submitted to multiple associations and societies for their review. This has been the culmination of
several years of work by many members of the pediatric hospital medicine community and thanks to Erin and
Mary for their countless hours of seeing this through to completion!
PRIS Update
Chris Landrigan, Raj Srivastava and Patrick Conway presented an update on the PRIS network. Based on the
feedback and initiates presented at the PHM Roundtable, the PRIS network is undergoing a reorganization to
continue to build on the momentum that has developed over the recent years. A workgroup has been developed
to consolidate research resources in anticipation of seeing additional studies launched in the near future. Were
looking forward to hearing further updates at the upcoming meetings. Any questions regarding the network can
be directed to Chris Landrigan at [email protected] or Nui Dhepyasuwan at nui@ambpeds.
Educational Scholars Program
Cohort 3 of the APAs Educational Scholars Program was initiated this year at the PAS meeting, including a
sub-cohort of 10 pediatric hospitalist scholars. Mary Ottolini gave an update on the program and the
outstanding projects that the hospitalists will be working on during their three year involvement in the ESP.
Further information regarding the ESP can be obtained at the APAs website under the Education tab.
Poster Session/Presentations
We held our annual poster session during the SIG meeting. Congratulations to this years presenters:

Lateral Transport of Neonates from a Level III Nursery to a Pediatric Hospitalist Service
Bridget Allard, MD1, Rebecca Q. Beck, MA2, Raul Lazarte, MD2 and Karen Carpenter, MD1. 1Dept of
Pediatrics, Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, Falls Church, VA and 2Dept of Neonatology/Fairfax Neonatal
Associates, Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children, Falls Church, VA.
Development of a Pediatric WebBased AutoPopulating Resident SignOut Application
Kathleen M. Berchelmann, M.D.1, Dexter G. D'Costa, MBBS, MHA, CPHIMS2, Susan M. Dusenbery, M.D.1,
Diane L. Watson, B.S.N, M.A.2 and Peter M. Kilbridge, M.D.1. (Sponsored by F. Sessions Cole)1Department
of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO and 2Health Information Systems, St.
Louis Children's Hospital, St. Louis, MO.
Recognizing Obesity in Hospitaized Children
Marsha E. Medows, MD1, Badreldin Bedri, MD2, Katarzyna DudyczSulicz, MD2, Rajesh Pandey, MD2 and
Daniel A. Rauch, MD1. 1Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY and 2Pediatrics, Woodhull
Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.
Peer Group Mentoring of Pediatric Hospitalists
Lisa M. Moscoso, MDPhD, Yasmeen Daud, MD, Kelly Ross, MD, Michael P. Turmelle, MD and Angela M.
Sharkey, MD. (Sponsored by Douglas Carlson) Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St.
Louis, MO.
Associations with Respiratory Failure in Bronchiolitis Patients Treated with Heliox
Heather C. Pierce, MD, Laurie Bernard, MD, Castillo Edward, PHD, MPH and Erin R. Stucky, MD. Pediatric
Hospital Medicine, Rady Childrens San Diego/UCSD, San Diego, CA.
If you have any questions regarding the SIG or its activities, please feel free to contact the co-chairs at
[email protected] or [email protected].
Looking forward to seeing all of you in Tampa!
Pediatric Hospital Medicine 2009
Tampa, Florida
July 23-26, 2009
SIG Co-Chairs
Daniel Rauch
[email protected]

Jeff Sperring
[email protected]

Injury Control SIG

The objective of the Injury Control Special Interest Group is to advance the field of injury control by: 1)
building a network of injury researchers; 2) and highlighting scientific advances in injury research and
methodology. At our May 3rd meeting in Baltimore, we had a lively discussion with a group of over 30
members and guests, ranging from senior researchers to trainees. Attendees were welcomed by co-chairs Beth
Ebel from the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Washington and Mary Aitken
from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The theme of this years session was the effective dissemination of injury prevention messages to the public and
to pediatric practitioners. Several national experts spoke about their innovative work and experiences working
with communication and outreach tools so that key research findings are translated into policy and practice.
Kim Randell, MD discussed her research on help-seeking among former victims of intimate partner violence,
and was recognized with the SIG trainee award for her work. Dr. Randell is a fellow in pediatric emergency
medicine at the University of Louisville and will be joining the faculty at the Department of Pediatrics,
Childrens Mercy Hospital in Kansas City this summer. Janet Serwint, from the Johns Hopkins Department of
Pediatrics provided a fascinating keynote address on the recent removal of pediatric over-the- counter cough
and cold preparations from the young children, identifying partnerships which catalyzed policy change after
decades of research. These presentations were followed by a workshop on building media partnerships to
develop and disseminate messages for different audiences. We were joined by media professionals, Jo Martin
and Susan Martin, from the PAS Media Relations who provided insights about how to most effectively work
with media professionals in order to effectively disseminate messages. The session used Dr. Ruth Brenners
recent and important study on the relationship between swimming lessons and drowning as a working example.
We look forward to the next SIG meeting in Vancouver in 2010!
SIG Co-Chairs
Mary Aitken
[email protected]

Beth Ebel
[email protected]

Medical Informatics SIG

Our "Careers in Medical Informatics" was a huge success this year. Nationally recognized informaticians
represented a breadth of careers and jobs in medical informatics discussed how they got to be in their present
career and jobs, what a typical day is like, what knowledge and skills are needed to be successful in the job, and
what they see as the future of the field. The discussion was incredibly rich. The panelists were:
Steven Downs - Medical Informatics Fellowship Director, Indiana University
George Kim, MD - Medical Informatics Researcher, Johns Hopkins University
Michael Leu - Medical Director for Clinical Effectiveness, Seattle Children's Hospital
Daniel Nigrin, MD - Chief Information Office, Children's Hospital Boston
Steven Downs also presented an opportunity for members to become involved with the American Academy of
Pediatrics Partnership for Policy Implementation (http://www.aap.org/visit/guidelineimplementation.htm)
which is a program where informaticians assist guideline developers with improving the guideline clarity and
their ability of to be implemented by pediatric health care providers.
According to the American Medical Informatics Association, Biomedical and health informatics is an
emerging, interdisciplinary and diverse field that:

Combines health sciences (such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and allied health) with
computer science, management and decision science, biostatistics, engineering and information
technology.
Solves problems in health care delivery, pharmaceutical, biomedical and health sciences research, health
education and clinical/medical decision making.
Isessentialinallaspectsofhealthcareandbiomedicine.

The APA Medical Informatics SIG goals are to:

Provide a forum for APA members to discuss all aspects of pediatric medical and present their scholarly
work in the field
Offer opportunity to network with other pediatric professionals interested in pediatric medical
informatics.
Introduce other pediatric professionals to the field of medical informatics
We encourage anyone who is interested in using computers in medicine in any form to join the SIG. You dont
have to be a technical person to be a member; many of us arent! If you have ideas, suggestions, comments or
questions, please contact Donna DAlessandro.
We are also looking for one or two people for new leadership of the SIG beginning next Spring. If you are
interested or know someone who is please contact Donna DAlessandro.
SIG Chair
Donna DAlessandro
[email protected]

Pain in Childhood SIG

The Special Interest Group on Pain in Childhood met on Saturday morning May 2, 2009. Our guest speaker
was Peter Rowe, Professor of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins and Director of the Chronic Fatigue Program at
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Peter has spent much of his career attempting to unravel the etiology of
this complex problem. He is also interested in orthostatic intolerance syndromes which not infrequently overlap
with chronic fatigue. Dr. Rowe presented an excellent evidence based discussion on this topic reviewing the
definition, epidemiology, pathophysiology, and impact of CFS as well as his clinical insights on treatment. He
discussed the relationship of both orthostatic intolerance and CFS with hypermobility and theorized on the
possible etiology of that association. Finally he discussed current research and the future direction of the field.
Dr. Rowes perspective was based on data from many different disciplines and his own experience and as a
result was very unique and creative. The session was very thought-provoking and fascinating, but unfortunately
very few meeting attendees found their way to our SIG. Email us for more information about the presentation.
Attendance at the SIG has varied enormously over the years and is highly dependent on the topic with few
repeat attendees each year. For example, when we speak about neonatal pain, the audience tends to consist of
mostly neonatologists. We get an entirely different group when the subject is needle pain, and still a different
group when we focus on complementary medicine or palliative care. This variation has caused us to wonder
whether or not to continue with our group given the lack of overlap between attendees each year. We will try
again next year in Vancouver, however, when Tim Oberlander of British Columbia Childrens Hospital will
coordinate our SIG panel. Tim is both a developmental pediatrician and a pain specialist and is a particular
expert on pain in children with developmental disabilities. We hope to see you there.
SIG Co-Chairs
Neil Schechter
[email protected]

Bruce Bernstein
[email protected]

Pediatric Clinical Research Networks SIG

Significant changes have been made to our SIG. Previously the SIG was devoted to the activities of primary
care, practice-based networks. However, it became clear that many of the issues that are pertinent to these
practice-based networks are also important to pediatric specialty based- and disease-based networks. Thus,
there was a consensus to expand the SIG and include all pediatric clinical networks. The name of the SIG was
changed to Pediatric Clinical Research Networks to reflect this new identity.
At the meeting in Baltimore there were presentations and much discussion about 4 issues central to all pediatric
clinical networks: dealing with multiple institutional review boards, use of electronic data collection systems,
collaboration with CTSA sites, and strategies for increasing the diversity of children enrolled in network
studies. In addition, there was some discussion regarding the differences in practice-based networks and
specialty- and diseased-based networks. Some in attendance voiced the concern that there are issues specific to
practice-based networks that might not be adequately addressed in the expanded SIG. Many of the pediatric
practice-based networks are relatively small organizations of private practice pediatricians (in collaboration
with researchers from academic medical centers) for whom research is a totally voluntary avocation. This is
much different from some of the larger specialty- or diseased-based networks whose members are academic
physicians. It will be a challenge for the SIG to maintain a balance as we go forward.
Finally, Mort Wasserman and Eric Slora from the PROS network of the AAP announced that they have
tentatively received funding from the NIH for a conference grantPediatric Clinical Research Networks:
Optimizing Effectiveness through Cooperation. It is hoped that this conference could be held prior to next
years SIG meeting and that the group can develop an agenda of activities.
SIG Chair
Jim Taylor
[email protected]

Pediatric Resident SIG

Voicing Your Opinion: A Residents Perspective on Competing Interests in Patient Care
APA Pediatric Resident Special Interest Group
Saturday, May 2, 2009
3:00 5:00 pm
Baltimore Convention Center, Room 350
This session provided residents with a forum to contemplate conflicting medical opinions with medical ethics
experts. The thirty seminar attendees discussed:
Navigating the medical hierarchy
Negotiating management plans with teenage patients and their families
Discovering differing opinions in medical futility
This discussion was augmented and guided by an esteemed panel of pediatric ethicists:
John Lantos, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
Associate Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics
The University of Chicago
and
John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics
Center for Practical Bioethics, Kansas City

Lainie Friedman Ross, MD, PhD

Carolyn and Matthew Bucksbaum Professor of Clinical Ethics
Professor, Departments of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Surgery
Associate Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics
The University of Chicago
Yoram Unguru, MD, MS, MA
Associate Faculty, Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics
Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
and
Faculty, The Herman and Walter Samuelson Children's Hospital at Sinai
Here is a sample of themes from our discussion of the following cases.
Case 1: Teenager with IBD
Josh is a 17 year old with Crohns Disease. He was diagnosed at age 12 after a 6 month course of persistent
abdominal pain, bloating, PO intolerance and intermittently blood diarrhea. He has had serological markers,
radiological findings and endoscopy supportive of the diagnosis. He had been treated initially with masalamine
along with corticosteroids for flares, of which he has had three since diagnosis. He had been compliant with
medications and with his treatment regimen until approximately 3 months ago when he joined the varsity
basketball team. He no longer takes his medications regularly and argues with his mother about his recent
weight loss and abdominal symptoms. She reports that he is minimizing his symptoms so that he can continue
to play sports. His father, however, while agreeing with his wife, mentions how proud he is that his son wishes
to tough it out. Josh says he just wants to be a normal kid and does not think he needs any chronic
medications to control his disease.
Discussion:
This case was familiar to many residents who shared stories of caring for other teenagers with chronic diseases,
such as cystic fibrosis, who often want to take a vacation from their illness.
The general approach shared by several residents involved time to talk to the patient about his goals and beliefs
in a non-confrontational manner.
Many residents felt strongly that their primary responsibility was to the care of the patient. Many felt
uncomfortable with the suggestion of Dr. Ross that discussion should be had with the patients parents in the
absence of the patient.
We also discussed that a core of this case focuses on what is normal; or what defines a
normal life.
Case 2: Discharge Goals and Planning
Susie is a 2 year old female born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome who has undergone two palliative
surgeries including a Glenn and Fontan. Despite these procedures, she was admitted to the hospital 2 weeks ago
with increasing tachypnea and fluid overload consistent with heart failure. In the two weeks since admission she
has undergone aggressive diuresis and has responded well clinically. The attending physician thinks she is ready
for discharge but as the resident you noticed on exam this morning that she is more irritable then yesterday.
Susie is back to her dry weight and the attending does not think this finding warrants any further investigation
and that she should be discharged. As the resident, you think that she may need another day in the hospital.
Discussion:
This case brought up a lively discussion of the unique characteristics of physicians in training.

One resident reported her response to these situations. I take it as a teaching moment. I ask the attending to
teach me what they look for when discharging a patient. She reported almost playing dumb
We also discussed how to bring up concerns or questions of the attending on family centered rounds. About
half the residents felt that the medical hierarchy should always be respected and that attendings, fellows, and
senior residents should never be questioned in front of families or patients. They felt that a unified front of the
medical team is extremely important. Others felt that disagreement or discussion done with the family on
rounds could be beneficial if done in a respectful manner.
Other issues discussed included educating families about the inherent uncertainty of medicine and the lack of
comfort or certainty amongst trainees in difficult clinical decisions.
The issue of resident as data gatherer vs. decision maker was also discussed and connected to discussions of
responsibility to the task vs. the patient.
Other residents commented that they still view themselves as on the other side of being a more human, more
normal person.
We also discussed that this interaction involves careful communication skills of sometimes seasoned residents
who are savvy, know how to play the game.
Another resident brought up the idea of a confidential rapid response team that empowers anyone to call for
additional evaluation of a potentially ill patient.
Case 3: Palliative Care in the NICU
Lucia is a 4-day-old ex-34 week premature infant with Trisomy 18 diagnosed prenatally. Her mother and father
are of Hispanic origin and are devote Catholics. They have decided to continue with the pregnancy and now
would like all aggressive measures taken to help their baby. They have heart about advances in cardiac surgery
and, after hearing that their child has a VSD, would like to have it closed. The primary care team in the NICU
has explained that they would not recommend any surgical corrections for Lucias physical impairments and
that they would suggest that the family seek home hospice care or care in a long-term facility. Lucias parents
are upset by this and believe that the doctors are not looking out for their childs best interests.
Discussion:
This was another case that residents found to be familiar. In a brief show of hands, a majority of residents felt
that a palliative care approach would be the best option for this child. This position was questioned by members
of the panel who highlighted how opinions of futility change over time, giving the example of patients with
Trisomy 21.
Several potential options were discussed including offering the VSD operation, not offering it, or offering to
refer the patient to another center.
Some residents questioned the use of financial resources when considering offering surgery, and questioned
where society felt health care dollars should be spent, this brought up how we define ourselves as healthcare
providers vs. society at large. The panel highlighter that their may be discrepancy with the views of these two
entities i.e. healthcare providers may view interventions in this case as futile where society may not.
Additional approaches to this case included bringing in members of the clergy and better understanding of how
the family understands the childs diagnosis and what their expectations are for her life.
Wrap up
The lively session concluded with a discussion of what residents would like to know about ethics as part of their
residency education. All residents in attendance reported receiving at least some form of education about
medical ethics as part of their residency training. NICU, PICU, and Hematology/Oncology were highlighted as
the rotations that were the most ethically challenging. Ideas generated included:
Flow charts of hierarchy of command so that residents know who to contact when there is differences of
medical opinion,
Resident submitted ethical cases for discussion at noon conference
Protected time for residents to attend care conferences pertaining to their patients
Series of bereavement lectures how to deal with grief, stages of dying

Making the ethical perspective one of the bulleted problems discussed in the assessment and plan on
oncology or other rounds
Multi-specialty de-briefings on difficult patients with residents, attendings, RNs
o i.e. one resident reported that such sessions where helpful in getting the RN perspective on
comfort care for a dying patient. The nurses where uncomfortable pushing the morphine and
would have preferred a PCA.
Timely debriefing Talking about it the second its going on.
Education about end of life discussions

SIG Chair
Nicole D. Marsico
[email protected]

Pediatric Tobacco Issues SIG

The Pediatric Tobacco Issues SIG (CIGSIG) had a great meeting at PAS! There were about 25 people present,
with a variety of experiences, both research and clinical. We started with an introduction to the AAP/Julius B.
Richmond Center of Excellence by its Director, Jonathan D. Klein. Dr. Klein described the overall goal of the
Richmond Center, which is to eliminate Childrens exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke. He told the group
about the various funding mechanisms available through the Richmond Center, including their Small Grants
program, their Fellowship Awards, and their Visiting Lectureship. For more information please contact the
Richmond Center at [email protected].
Dr. Klein was followed by Mark Delmonte of the AAP Department of Federal Affairs. He gave us an overview
of the new legislation in Congress to give the FDA oversight of tobacco. Below is an update of the information
as of June 1, 2009 from their office:
A decade-long effort to give FDA broad authority to regulate tobacco and protect children from the harms of
smoking is closer than it has ever been to passage. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act
(H.R. 1256/S. 982) passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 298-112 on April 2, 2009. In the Senate,
the bill has been approved at the committee level and will soon come up for consideration by the full Senate.
This legislation will provide the FDA with broad new authority and resources to regulate the manufacture,
marketing, labeling, distribution and sale of tobacco products, including advertising. The marketing provisions
include banning advertising near schools and tobacco sponsorship of sporting events. The bill would require
tobacco company disclosure of cigarette constituents as well as larger and stronger health warnings on
cigarette packs. It would also give the FDA the authority to regulate the amount of nicotine in cigarettes, ban
flavored cigarettes, and prevent the marketing of products labeled as reduced harm. This enhanced power
can reduce tobacco use by adolescents and young adults, thus limiting the number of people exposed to
tobacco's health-compromising and life-threatening risks.
You can help enact this important piece of legislation by calling the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 2243121, asking to speak to your state's senators, and telling them to vote YES on the FDA tobacco bill.
Finally, we had a chance to discuss our different clinical and research projects in a networking session. There
were several members present who recently attended Dana Bests Smoke Free Homes Conference in Anaheim,
CA, and shared their experiences; for more information on the conferences go to www.kidslivesmokefree.org.
For more information about the Pediatric Tobacco Issues Special Interest Group, or about clinical or research
questions about reducing tobacco exposure among children, please contact either of the CIGSIG Co-Chairs:

SIG Co-Chairs
Meta Lee
[email protected]

Karen Wilson
[email protected]

Quality Improvement SIG

The APA QI SIG met at PAS 2009. We reviewed a new draft mission and vision statement and made plans for
implementation of the mission and vision statement. Over 30 people participated in the meeting, which was
facilitated by Denise Dougherty and David Link, co-chairs, and Virginia Moyer, honorary co-chair.
Mission and Vision Statements
After a brief overview of provisional definitions of healthcare quality improvement and related terms (e.g.,
implementation research and translational research) and the link between evidence-based clinical pediatrics and
the need for evidence-based quality improvement interventions (link to slide?) participants discussed the
following draft mission and vision statements:
Mission: To enhance the capacity of pediatric researchers to collaborate and conduct meaningful,
rigorous and relevant pediatric healthcare quality improvement research.
Vision: To make pediatric healthcare quality improvement research a national model for such efforts.
The discussion focused on making several enhancements: including the teaching function of SIGs in the
mission; include other committees and SIGs in the discussion, because many are also focused on collaborative
research; focusing on the unique role of the QI SIG.
The group agreed that a revised mission and vision should be sent out once more for review by the QI SIG
before it is adopted officially.
Several participants volunteered to bring the provisional new mission and vision statement to other groups that
would be meeting in the near future (e.g., the Child Health Corporation of America Quality and Safety Leaders
Forum).
Implementation of the new Mission and Vision
Need for longer and broader meetings
A proposal that the QI SIG hold a pre-meeting just prior to the next PAS meeting was well-accepted.
Goals for such a meeting could include:

Raising awareness of the QI SIG and its interests

Developing one or more research networks across academic institutions, regionally, and, perhaps,
provider groups.
o Such research networks could focus on a single high-prevalence, high significance condition for
which there is widespread variation in quality.
Examples include:

Disparities in settings serving underserved (e.g., continuity clinics and other

hospital outpatient settings)
ADHD
Asthma
Addressing IRB issues in QI research
Developing guidance on novel research designs for QI
o This would lead to APA becoming an authoritative voice on designs and a provider of tools for
researchers.
o Issues include: internal validity; external validity (measuring context and implementation
processes)

Target audience/participants could include:

Alliance for Pediatric Quality (AAP, ABP, NACHRI)

National Initiative for Childrens Healthcare Quality (Charlie Homer)
National Association of Childrens Hospitals and Related Institutions (Marlene Miller)
Childrens Healthcare Corporation of America (see above)
American Board of Pediatrics (Paul Miles)
IHI (Don Berwick)
Program Directors

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was mentioned as a possible funding source for the 2010 premeeting at PAS. One issue was identifying a sponsoring organization that would not be associated with a
single academic institution. David and Denise had been thinking of APA as the sponsor, but during a brief
discussion among David Link, Denise Dougherty, and Judy Shaw, the new chair of Committees and SIGs in
APA, Judy noted that APA has been wary of sponsoring too many meetings, given the current economy. We
are looking into having the meeting as an official APA/PAS function on the Friday prior to the 2010 PAS
meeting. There are several models from the 2009 and prior meetings.
The next steps include conference calls and email discussions among two groups of volunteers who would
further flesh out an agenda for the pre-meeting. See below.
Worker Bees
Obviously, much work is needed between now and the next PAS meeting. Most SIG meeting participants
signed up for a research committee, an education committee, or both, as noted below:
Volunteer
Dan Neuspiel
Maya Bunik
Debra Bogen
David Wood
Chuck Norlin
Jeffrey Devries
Elizabeth R Woods
Alan Kohrt
Erin Stucky
Heather Pierce
Christine Walsh-Kelly
Evie Alessandrini
Paul Young
Eugenia Chan
Ariane Marie-Mitchell
(sp?)

Research
committee

Education
committee
x
x

Meeting planning or
unspecified

Specific interest

x
X
x
x
x
x
x

x
x
x
X (either)

x
x
x
x

CHCs and incorporation of BF

Evan Fieldston
Christopher Stille
Greg Randolph
Mariellen Lane
Rita Mangione-Smith
David Link
Denise Dougherty
Volunteered but not
present:
Raj Srivastara
Chris Landrigan
Steve Narang
Mary Ottolini

X
X

x
Medical home QI
x
x

x
X
X

x
x

x
x
x
X

Chairs APA Education Committee

Other volunteers are welcome to join and we will begin implementation soon. Those interested should contact
either or both co-chairs at:
SIG Co-Chairs
Denise Dougherty
[email protected]

David Link
[email protected]

Serving the Underserved SIG

The Serving the Underserved SIG had a wonderful time at the PAS meeting in Baltimore! We began the
session with introductions, and found that we all worked with diverse underserved populations across the
country. Although many work in different settings, the unifying theme was that all of us care for vulnerable,
poor children. We then had a debate led by Carol Berkowitz and Barry Zuckerman focused on whether the
government should reimburse at double the rate to providers who work in underserved communities. The
debate was quite entertaining (thanks to our two amazing debaters) and led to a lively discussion among our
entire group. While there were no easy answers, it was clear that we were all passionate about those who most
need our care. We spent the remaining time discussing the future directions for the SIG. Ideas included
sponsoring a plenary/topic symposium and fostering greater collaborations throughout the year by creating
smaller workgroups focused on education, research, and advocacy.
Finally, Wendy Hobson-Rohrer, after 7 wonderful years, stepped down as SIG co-chair. We thank her for her
many years of service, leadership, and devotion to the SIG.
We now have 3 SIG Co-Chairs: 1) Steve Federico, 2) Arvin Garg, and 3) Victor Perez.
We invite anyone who works with vulnerable children or is interested in the Serving the Underserved SIG to
join us! If you have ideas, thoughts, suggestions, please contact:
SIG Chairs:
Steve Federico
[email protected]
Arvin Garg
[email protected]
Victor Perez
[email protected]

Women in Medicine SIG

Women in Medicine SIG Meeting Agenda/Minutes
Pediatric Academic Societies Baltimore, MD May 3, 2009
Physician Re-entry into the Workforce
Each of the participants in the Women in
Medicine Special Interest Group has no
relevant relationships to disclose or conflicts
of interest.
There will be no discussion related to offlabel use of drugs.
Agenda
Appreciative exercise
Meet the attendees
Assess competence
Panel discussion
Ethan Jewett MA
Holly J. Mulvey MA
Nielufar Varjavand MD
Discussion and prioritization re re-entry
Women in Medicine SIG 2010
The Program Director
The HR Director
Panel Discussion
Holly J. Mulvey MA
Co-Director
The Physician Re-entry into the
Workforce Project
The Physician Re-Entry into the
Workforce Project

Ethan Jewett MA
Co-Director
The Physician Re-entry into the
Workforce Project
Career Trends of Inactive, Retired,
and Reentered Women Physicians:
Results of a National Workforce
Survey
Panel Discussion
Nielufar Varjavand M.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Drexel University College of
Medicine
Drexel Medicine Physician Re-entry
Refresher Course
Discussion and Points to Ponder
What might be the barriers to creating
categories of reentering physicians?
What might these categories be?
What are the challenges of blending
standardized with individualized
components to create a high quality re-entry
education program?
PAS 2010 Vancouver
50th Anniversary of the APA
Thoughts for topics

SIG Chair
Carol Berkowitz
[email protected]

Announcements
2009 Award Winners

Congratulations to all the 2009 Award Winners

Health Care Delivery Award, Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA >
Research Award, Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD
Miller-Sarkin Award, Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH
Teaching Award, Alejandro Hoberman, MD
Public Policy and Advocacy, Lisa Chamberlain, MD, MPH
National Pediatric Community Teaching Award, Ronald Angoff

International Health Award, Yeshiwas Amsalu, MD

Ludwig-Seidel Award,Jon F. McGreevy, MD
Distinguished Career Award, Robert Haggerty, MD
Helfer Award, Dorene Balmer, PhDSt.
Geme Award, Kenneth B. Roberts, MD

Teaching Award
Alejandro Hoberman, MD

Health Care Delivery Award

Denice Cora-Bramble, MD, MBA

Research Award
Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD

National Pediatric Community

Teaching Award
Ronald Angoff

Helfer Award
Dorene Balmer, PhD

Public Policy and Advocacy

Lisa Chamberlain, MD, MPH

Distinguished Career Award

Robert Haggerty, MD

Ludwig-Seidel Award
Jon F. McGreevy, MD

Miller-Sarkin Award
Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH

St. Geme Award

Kenneth B. Roberts, MD

International Health Award

Yeshiwas Amsalu, MD

2009 Young Investigator Award Winners

APA YIAs
o Grace Lee, CHOP: Incidence of Pneumonia-Related Complications in US Children Hospitalized with
Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Post-Heptavalent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Era
o Shonna Yin, NYU: Use of Plain-language, Pictogram-based Medication Instruction Sheets to Improve
Parent Understanding of Medication Instructions and Prevent Medication Errors in Children

o Anisha Patel, UCLA: Hydrate for a Healthy Start: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Availability and
Consumption of Beverages in Child Care Facilities

APA/AHRQ YIAs
o Patricia Li, Hospital for Sick Children: A population-based study on the effect of clinical practice
guidelines in the emergency department on childhood asthma admissions and bounce backs in Ontario,
Canada
o Matthew Kronman, CHOP: Defining trends in antibiotic use and factors associated with broadspectrum antibiotic overuse in childhood pneumonia
o Alexander Fiks, CHOP: Shared Decision Making in Pediatrics: A National Perspective
Commonwealth Fund YIAs
o Aasma Khandekar, Boston Medical Center: A Quality Improvement Initiative for Reach Out and Read
o Michael Leu, Seattle Childrens: Feasibility study of an online, family-focused developmental
screening instrument based on Bright Futures
o Alma Guerrero, UCLA: Quality of Preventive Care for Young Latino Children: Assessment of
Disparities and Impact
MCHB-funded Bright Futures YIAs
o Darcy Thompson, Johns Hopkins: Providing nutritional anticipatory guidance to low-income Spanishspeaking parents via touch screen computer kiosks
o Allison Gorman, NYU: Obesity Prevention in Toddler and Preschool Children: Parental and
Practitioner Knowledge Attitudes and Behavior

o Kristina Gustafson, MUSC: Safety First: Implementing Bright Futures Evidence Based Curriculum In
a Pediatric Residency Continuity Clinic

Special Reports
CORNET

The 4th Annual CORNET Executive Committee Meeting was truly out of this world this year. This meeting
takes place on the Tuesday and Wednesday immediately following the PAS meeting each year. The reason it
was out of this world is that we spoke with Dr. Michael R. Barratt, who is the husband of one of our Executive
Committee members, Michelle Barratt, the CORNET Regional Research Chair of Region VIII. Dr. Michael
Barratt is aboard the International Space Station after traveling aboard a Russian Soyuz which launched March

26th from Kazakhstan. On the space station, he circles around the earth every 90 minutes. It was amazing to be
able to speak with him while in space and hear him describe to us what he was seeing! It was also amazing that
the responses back and forth were almost instantaneous, despite the fact that we were speaking so far away.
Now back to earth
CORNET has had another productive year. We continue to benefit greatly from our beloved Research
Associate, Nui Dhepyasuwan and the work of our Steering and Executive Committees. We welcome a new
staff member, Maribeth Sarnecki, who is assisting with many of the administrative tasks of CORNET.
CORNET thrives due to continued contributions from researchers who help to design the relevant practicebased research network (PBRN) studies and the site investigators who carry out the studies.
The CORNET research goals remain the same: 1) to study health and health care issues of minority and
underserved children, 2) to examine health care disparities in children and 3) to study resident education within
the continuity setting. This includes increasing exposure and involvements of residents to primary care research
and comparing practice behaviors of residents in training with those of practitioners in active practice.
Currently 94 pediatric training programs are enrolled in CORNET which includes 44% of all training programs
nationally, 110 clinical practice sites and more than 4,500 categorical pediatric residents who provide care at
these practice sites to over 600,000 pediatric patients. CORNET practices continue to provide care to a high
proportion of black, Hispanic and Medicaid patients when compared to practices that participated in the
National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey.

CORNETProgramLocations

Manuscripts published this year

Krugman SD, Para-Roide L, Hobson WL, Garfunkel LC, Serwint JR. Spanish speaking patients perceive high
quality care in resident continuity practices: A CORNET study. Clinical Pediatrics, 2009, 48:304-310.This is
our first manuscript that has addressed our research goal of examination of health care disparities.

One manuscript in press:

Krugman SD, Garfunkel LK, Olsson JM, Ferrell CL, Serwint JR for the CORNET Investigators. Does quality
of primary care vary by level of training in pediatric resident continuity practices? Academic Pediatrics, (in
press).
Completed Studies this Year
The Survey of Pediatric Asthma Care Education in Residency (SPACER) Study was completed this year. This
study with Sande Okelo, MD as the principal investigator, and Terry Hetzler, MD and Cindy Ferrell, MD as
CORNET co-investigators was a cross-sectional survey to assess asthma management and incorporation of
national practice guidelines by pediatric residents. Ten pediatric training programs participated and surveys
were obtained form 369 residents (65% response rate). The initial analysis has examined responses from the
pediatric residents. Future analysis will compare resident responses to those of practitioners from a similar
study Dr. Okelo conducted within the American Academy of Pediatrics and practicing pediatricians. The first
manuscript is in preparation.
Ongoing CORNET Studies
The Bright Futures study.
We are completing the fourth and final year of the Bright Futures study funded by the Maternal and Child
Health Bureau. The study design is a randomized controlled trial of incorporation of preventive health
strategies comparing a more intensive web based educational module on oral health to a streamlined web based
module on iron deficiency prevention. Twenty nine pediatric training programs are participating. Site coinvestigators are working hard to finalize data collection by this fall.
Secondary Sexual Characteristics in Boys Study (SSCIB). CORNET is collaborating with the PROS network in
this study to examine the onset of secondary sexual characteristics in boys, with Dr Marcia Giddens Ph, PA as
the Principal Investigator. This study is in need of larger numbers of underrepresented minority patients and
thus PROS is offering incentives both to CORNET Practices and to the CORNET network, for enrollment of
practices that include >40% of their patients are from underrepresented minorities. Thus far 13 CORNET
practices and 24 CORNET investigators are participating and recruitment is ongoing. High minority sites will
receive $750 for participation. Site investigators need to pass a test regarding secondary sexual characteristics
assessment and then recruit and submit data for 15 6-12 year olds and 15 13-18 year old patients. Recruitment
is ongoing but the study will end by November. This is a great opportunity for CORNET sites that are new to
the network to participate in a relatively easy study.
Studies in Development
Adolescent Immunizations within Medical Homes. This study is a national quality improvement study to
increase adolescent immunization rates. The study was submitted to the Centers for Disease Control for
potential funding and Peter Szilagyi is the principal investigator. Stay tuned for more details.
Health Care of Pediatric Residents and their Families. This cross-sectional study proposed by Kristina
Simeonsson and John Olsson will examine pediatric residents responses to how they receive their own health
care, whether colleagues provide care and antibiotics, and the care their families receive.
How is Continuity Defined in Continuity Clinics? Paul Darden is the principal investigator for this study to
determine how pediatric continuity directors measure and define continuity, an important concept to the
Residency Review Committee. This study is in development.

Play Nicely. Seth Scholer is proposing this national, randomized controlled trial examining a web based video
on discipline strategies and methods to decrease aggressive behavior in young children. Sue Feigelman is
serving as the CORNET Steering Committee member. A pilot feasibility study is in development.
CORNET AT 2009 PAS Meeting Presentations
The following CORNET presentations took place at the 2009 PAS meeting.

Bright Futures and Oral Health Concepts for Pediatric Residents: Preliminary Findings from CORNET.
Dhepyasuwan N, Serwint JR, Connors K, Bernstein H. Presented at the General Pediatrics Poster
Session.
Survey of Pediatric Asthma Care Education in Residency: SPACER Study. Okelo S, Siberry GK,
Solomon BS, Yamazaki M, Hetzler T, Ferrell C, Dhepyasuwan N, Serwint JR for the CORNET
Investigators. This abstract was presented at the Medical Education platform presentation. Creating
Multi-Site Clinical and Educational Research Studies with CORNET: Expand the Possibilities.
Stratbucker W, Darden P, Dhepyasuwan N, Feigelman S, Ferrell C, Garfunkel L, Hetzler T, and Link E.
This presentation was an interactive workshop and an incredibly energized session due to the hard work
of Bill Stratbucker and many members of the CORNET Executive Committee.

If any of you are interested in joining CORNET, or participating in the SSCIB study, please email
[email protected]. We will be sending out additional notifications of studies through our CORNET website.
We encourage you to join. Here is a picture from our CORNET Executive Committee Meeting.

CORNET Steering Committee Members

Janet Serwint, MD, Network Director
Nui Dhepyasuwan, MEd, Research Associate, Network Coordinator
Susan Feigelman, MD
Marilyn Dumont Driscoll, MD, PhD
Paul Darden, MD
Glenn Flores, MD (APA Research Committee Chair)

CORNET Executive Committee

Region 1, Ronald Samuels, Children Hospital of Boston
Region 2, Therese Hetzler, New York Medical College
Region 3, Lynn Garfunkel, MD, University of Rochester
Region 4, John Olsson, MD, East Carolina University
Region 5, William Stratbucker, MD, DeVos Childrens Hospital
Region 6, Ellen Link, MD, University of Iowa
Region 7, Michelle Barratt, MD, University of Texas
Region 8, Lee Sanders, MD, University of Miami
Region 9, Thomas Ball, MD, MPH, University of Arizona
Region 10 Cynthia Ferrell, MD, Oregon State
Region 11, (Uniformed Services) Timothy Shope, MD, MPH, Naval Medical Center
Janet Serwint, MD
Network Director

Pediatric Educational Excellence Across the Continuum (PEEAC)

Doyouteachmedicalstudents,residents,fellows,peersand/orcolleagues?Wouldyouliketoenhanceyour
skillsasan educator?IfyouansweredYestothesequestions,mark yourcalendarandplan toattendan
innovativeconferenceforteachersinPediatrics.ThePediatricEducationalExcellenceAcrosstheContinuum
(PEEAC)conferencewillbeheldSeptember11and12,2009attheWestinArlingtonGatewayinArlington,VA.
The focus for the meeting is skill development and the format was chosen to ensure opportunities to practice
skills and to problem-solve with like-minded colleagues.
You will leave this conference ready to incorporate new skills and strategies in your daily interactions with
learners. The faculty are nationally recognized experts in education and leaders of the sponsoring organizations
for the meeting: the Academic Pediatric Association, the Association of Pediatric Program Directors, the
CouncilonMedicalStudentEducationinPediatricsandtheCouncilofPediatricSubspecialties.
ThemeetingwillstartwithaplenaryaddresspresentedbyLewisFirst,ChairandProfessorofPediatricsatthe
UniversityofVermontandEditorinChiefofPediatrics.Interactiveworkshopswillemphasize:effectiveand
efficientteachingininpatientandambulatoryclinicalsettings;usingtechnologyinteaching;theassessment
andevaluationoflearners;providingfeedbacktolearners;navigatingchallenginginteractionswithlearners;
planning and creating structured learning experiences and curricula; and using a scholarly approach in your
teachingsothatyoucancreatescholarshipoutoftheworkthatyoudoasateacher.
Small group discussions and interactions with faculty are built into the agenda to ensure networking
opportunities.Youwillleavepreparedtomeetthechallengesyoufaceasateacherandarmedwithresources
andconnectionswithcolleaguestosupportyouinyourcontinuedprofessionaldevelopmentasaneducator.
Additionalinformationisavailableathttp://www.peeac.org/index.cfm
RegistrationwillopeninJuly,2009.
Hopetoseeyouthere!

Report from Chair of Workshops and SIGs

Many thanks to the talented and enthusiastic leaders of our APA Special Interest Groups (SIGs). They
organized and facilitated so many incredible presentations at the PAS meeting in Baltimore. We now have 38
SIGs and they featured some of our nations (and international) leaders who discussed very important issues
with numerous APA members. Feedback about these sessions has been great! In Baltimore, 3 new SIGs got
together for the first time: E-learning in Medical Education, Complex Care and Health Literacy. These new
SIGs bring abundant energy and enthusiasm to important areas of pediatric medicine. SIG leaders and members
are to be congratulated for there efforts to focus on these new frontiers. All of our SIGs are highly valued by
members of the APA.
The PAS meeting in Baltimore also featured numerous creative and informative workshops. Many members of
the APA served as leaders of these workshops, which attracted fellows and other trainees, as well as junior
faculty and senior leaders in pediatrics. There were numerous interesting sessions for all, and we thank the
workshop leaders for their hard work, unique teaching styles and innovative instruction. Due to space
limitations only 39% of the 238 workshop proposals were accepted for presentation at the PAS meeting in
Baltimore. Some workshops had been presented previously, but 63% were new workshops. Unfortunately, in
this competitive process, many great workshop proposals could not be accepted for presentation.
Next years meeting will be in beautiful Vancouver. Workshop proposals must be submitted earlier this year, by
mid-August, 2009. It is not too early for leaders and members of the Special Interest Groups to begin planning
for the year ahead. SIGs are encouraged to develop educational material from recent sessions, and to submit
workshop proposals to further engage academic pediatricians. SIGs may also wish to work cooperatively with
other SIGs on research projects or next years program. All SIG leaders are welcome to use the new APA
website to communicate with their membership throughout the year.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my role as Chair of Workshops and SIGs for the past 3 years. I look forward to
working with all of you in the future as Secretary of the APA.
Steven M. Selbst
[email protected]

Workshops and SIGs Chair

Academic Pediatric Association