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New Century Scholars Application NOW AVAILABLE

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click here for application

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The Academic Pediatric Association New Century Scholars Program is a mentorship program aimed at increasing the diversity of the academic general pediatric workforce

Rationale:

• Racial and ethnic disparity in child health and health care is an increasingly important issue, particularly as US demographics become more diversified.
• One approach to decreasing racial/ethnic disparities is to increase the number of minority pediatricians working in academic settings (i.e., education, research and clinical care)
• One way to increase minority recruitment into academic careers is to provide role models and mentors to pediatric trainees during the time when career plans are being formed.

APA NCScholars^© Program:

• The program selects under-represented minority (URM) pediatric residents who have interest in pursuing careers in academic general pediatrics or related fields (e.g., behavior/developmental pediatrics, adolescent medicine) to become NCScholars^©.
  • NCScholars^© are recruited in the second year of residency, and continue in the program through the end of residency, as long as they remain in good standing.

• NCScholars^© are matched with junior and senior mentors who provide ongoing support to the scholar during residency, career planning, fellowship application process, and onward.
  • Junior Mentors: Fellows in training programs and junior faculty who have interests in the areas of racial/ethnic child health disparities, cultural competency, and minority child health and development, and who have a commitment to mentorship and the program goals.
  • Senior mentors: APA members who are educators or researchers working in the fields of racial/ethnic child health disparities, cultural competency, and minority child health and development, who have strong mentorship abilities and who have a commitment to mentorship and the program goals.

• NCScholars^© and their mentors meet during the annual PAS meetings, and continue contact throughout the year through email and phone.

• NCScholars^© receive a travel grant to attend the annual PAS meetings (including travel, room, and registration fees)
• NCScholars^© attend a special one day conference the day before the PAS meeting.
• A dinner banquet is held honoring the NCScholars^©, attended by APA leadership, fellowship directors, and guests.
• NCScholars^© are in contact with mentors and Program staff throughout the PAS meeting.
• It is required that all NCScholars attend the annual PAS meetings and the New Century Scholars Conference the day before the PAS begins. Residency programs are asked to help with residency scheduling so that the NCScholar may attend.

• Ongoing activities:
  • NCScholars^© are provided free membership in the APA during their residency
  • Career counseling by program directors and mentors
  • Website and Listserv for NCScholars^©
  • Support during fellowship application and post-residency career planning

PROGRAM STAFF:

Director:
Lee Pachter, DO
Lpachter@ccmckids.org
860-545-8246)
Co-Director:
Cheryl Kodjo, MD, MPH
Cheryl_Kodjo@URMC.Rochester.edu
Coordinator:
Jennifer Padilla
Jennifer@academicpeds.org

Download the Program Description

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New Century Scholars Program

June 2010 Newsletter Article

The 2010 PAS meeting in Vancouver marked the sixth year of the APA New Century Scholars Program. This program was developed to increase workforce diversity in academic pediatrics. (Please see the NCScholars webpage on the APA website for background and details). This year we selected seven second year pediatric resident for our 2010 class of NCScholars. They (and their mentors) are:

First Year Scholars:
Roxanne Almas (University of Massachusetts School of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Carol Weitzman (Yale/New Haven) Junior Mentor: Arvin Garg (Tufts/Boston Floating)	Elaine Barfield (Cornell-New York Presbyterian) Senior Mentor: Cheryl Kodjo (University of Rochester) Junior Mentor: Asha Willis (Mount Sinai School of Medicine)
Marc Callender (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Benard Dryer (NYU School of Medicine) Junior Mentor: Ray Perry (UCLA)	Janice Hobbs (St. Christopher's Hospital for Children) Senior Mentor: Debra Bogen (University of Pittsburgh/Pittsburgh Children's) Junior Mentor: Kecia Carroll (Vanderbuilt University/Vanderbuilt Children's)
Brandi Kaye Freeman (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Lisa Simpson (Cincinnati Children's Hospital) Junior Mentor: Tumani Coker (UCLA/RAND)	Nicole Salazar Austin (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia) Senior Mentor: Rhonda Graves (NYU Medical Center) Junior Mentor: Tyler Smith (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine)
Allison Kirk (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Joanne Cox (Children's Hospital of Boston) Junior Mentor: Inyang Isong (Massachusetts General Hospital)
These seven joined, returning 3rd year NCScholars, Tarayn Fairlie (Baystate Medical Center; Glen Flores, mentor), Traci Ogbu (Baylor College of Medicine; Ivor Horn and Julia Anixt, mentors), and Ashaunta Tumblin (Baylor College of Medicine; Suzette Oyeku and Joyce Javier, mentors) at the PAS meetings.
Third Year Scholars:
Tarayn Fairlie (Baystate Medical Center/Tufts University School of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Glenn Flores (UT Southwestern Medical Center) Junior Mentor: Cori Green (NYU School of Medicine)	Maya Jones (University of Pennsylvania) Senior Mentor: Denice Cora-Bramble (Children's National Medical Center) Junior Mentor: Vicki Wilkins (University of Washington)
Traci Ogbu (Baylor College of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Ivor Horn (Children's National Medical Center) Junior Mentor: Julia Anixt (University of Maryland)	Jenny Smokey (University of Washington School of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Matilde Irigoyen (Albert Einstein Medical Center) Junior Mentor: Kathy Angkustsiri (UC-Davis School of Medicine)
Ashaunta Tumblin (Baylor College of Medicine) Senior Mentor: Suzette Oyeku (Albert Einstein Coll. Of Medicine/Montefiore) Junior Mentor: Joyce Javier (Children's Hospital of LA/USC)	Natalie Woods (University of Chicago) Senior Mentor: Cheryl Kodjo (University of Rochester School of Medicine) Junior Mentor:Amanda Bennett (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia)
The NCScholars attended a conference on Friday April 30th, where they heard from mentors and guest speakers about academic fellowships and careers in pediatric academic medicine. A dinner banquet was held that evening, attended by NCScholars, past NCScholars, mentors, and APA leadership. During the PAS meetings, NCScholars had the opportunity to meet with their mentors and program directors, and attend PAS sessions.
We'd like to thank everyone who has supported this program including the mentors who volunteer their time, as well as the office of Minority Health which generously provides funding for the program. If you're interested in being a mentor in future years, or have questions about the program, feel free to contact Lee Pachter (Lpachter@drexelmed.edu) or Cheryl Kodjo (Cheryl_Kodjo@urmc.rochester,edu).

New Century Scholars Program Directors
Lee Pachter, DO - Director
Lpachter@ccmckids.org

Cheryl Kodjo, MD, MPH - Co-Director
Cheryl_Kodjo@URMC.Rochester.edu