The APA is looking for individuals who are interested in assisting the Board of Directors with setting the direction of the Association’s programs and services. Everyone can engage with the APA; there are numerous leadership opportunities with different time commitments. By becoming a volunteer leader, you can have direct impact on the Association’s work and advance your career.
Getting involved is easy! Complete the interest form, select which opportunities interest you, submit your CV and a short statement of interest. There are many different ways and areas you can engage in and give back to the APA. Below are the positions available and their descriptions.
APA’s Academic General Pediatrics Accreditation Committee is responsible for (1) accrediting academic general pediatric (AGP) and pediatric hospital medicine (PHM) fellowship programs in the United States, (2) hosting an annual Fellows Meeting prior to the PAS Meeting and (3) coordinating an annual Fall match for AGP fellowships.
Ideally candidates will have:
- Substantial experience in the administration and/or teaching of Academic General Pediatric (e.g., as a program director, active faculty member, or participating site director). The program does not have to be an accredited APA program (outpatient general pediatrics, hospitalist training program, etc.)
- Knowledge/Experience with accreditation at some level (i.e. involved locally or nationally with LCME, RRC, or other similar types of accreditation)
- Scholarly contributions to the field of general pediatrics
*Junior and mid-career candidates are encouraged to apply
Meeting requirements: Meets monthly via teleconference.
Job descriptions/meeting requirements:
- Participate in monthly conference calls
- Serve as a liaison between the Academic Fellow Special Interest Group and the Academic General Pediatric Accreditation Committee
- Review applications for fellowship accreditation and discuss issues related to training from a fellow’s perspective
- Participate in curriculum development
- Webinars or other educational sessions for fellows originating from the AGPAC committee
- Participate in program evaluation by the AGPAC committee including development and review of an annual fellow and faculty program evaluation for accredited programs
- Participate in selection/refinement/development of milestones for pediatric fellows of accredited programs
- Communicate fellow interests and needs to the AGPAC committee (these are needs of all fellows regardless of accreditation status)
- Identify academic fellow’s needs for career development and liaison with the two committees (AGPAC and Academic Fellows SIG) to brainstorm possible solutions to these needs.
The liaison would not be expected to participate in site visits for the accreditation committee.
Advancing Pediatric Educator eXcellence (APEX), an award-winning national faculty development program in clinical teaching is recruiting new faculty for the PAS program, co-sponsored by the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Hospital Medicine. At PAS, APEX is offered to all pediatricians, including general pediatricians, pediatric subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists, who are interested in expanding their skillset as clinical teachers.
In 2021, APEX accepted its first PAS cohort, and in 2022, we will accept our second. As we will host two cohorts together, we will need additional instructors to co-lead the educational modules. The program will include a half-day session of workshops at PAS, span the year between two sequential PAS conferences, and end with a half-day session of workshops at the following PAS conference. It will provide a national cohort of pediatricians with evidence-based teaching strategies, exemplar faculty mentorship, and a forum to collaborate with peers around clinical teaching topics.
We are seeking additional instructors who will help lead the continued expansion of APEX at PAS.
Instructor responsibilities include:
- Teaching at the PAS APEX pre-conference (the Friday of PAS) on April 22, 2022
- Interacting with participants on a web platform follow-up module during a six-week block once per year
- Minimum commitment of 3 years, with possible renewal
Applicants should have experience in:
- Presenting on clinical teaching approaches, including teaching at the bedside and/or in various ambulatory clinic or hospital-based settings, teaching with limited time, and/or clinical reasoning
- Delivering faculty development programming preferably on the national level
- Local or regional leadership in faculty development
If you are interested in joining the APEX Faculty Team, please fill out the form and send one letter of recommendation from one person who has observed your teaching in the past five years.
This volunteer position comes with a small stipend; instructors will be responsible for their own travel and lodging.
More information on the APEX Teaching Program can be found at: https://tinyurl.com/y398el6c
The Steering Committee consists of six voting members: one Network Membership Chair, three Evaluators of Clinical and Educational Research, one Stakeholder Representative, and the APA Chair of the Research Committee, in addition to Fellow and Resident Representatives. The roles may change as the needs of the network change. The Committee positions currently open are: Network Membership Chair and Evaluator of Clinical and Educational Research. Chairs will serve a five-year term with the option for two additional, five-year terms; renewal will be voted on by the Executive Committee.
Network Membership Chair:
- Role and Responsibilities: These members will be intimately involved with
- Network engagement, marketing, and planning for transitions.
- Advising the Network Director and the Research and Network Coordinator on issues concerning communication among the network.
- The Regional Research Chairs in recruitment of new CORNET practices and maintain current membership.
Evaluator of Clinical and Educational Research:
- Role and Responsibilities: These members will be intimately involved with
- The functioning of the network and research development.
- Monitoring possible funding opportunities for potential network research studies.
- Advising on research methodology, reviewing research study protocols, offering feedback to principal investigators.
- Serving as mentors for principal investigators of network research studies in the early stages of project development.
The Steering Committee will oversee the overall research mission of the network:
- Alterations in the network infrastructure.
- The overall direction of the network.
- Act as a resource to the Regional Research Chairs of the Executive Committee.
- Provide mentorship for professional and academic advancement.
- Guide solicitation for research proposals and the initial selection of research studies consistent with the network’s mission statement.
- Provide appropriate oversight of the development and methodology of selected research studies, including recruitment of study participants.
- Disseminate research study results, lead abstract development, and manuscript publication.
- Review and recommend revisions to the Rules of Governance to the APA Board of Directors, as needed.
- Attend and contribute to the agendas of monthly conference calls and the annual CORNET meeting at PAS.
Meeting Requirements: CORNET’s Executive and Steering Committees meeting via videoconference monthly and in-person at PAS.
Fellow and resident representatives will serve as a liaison between academic pediatric fellows and residents and the CORNET Committees to increase awareness of CORNET among academic pediatric fellows and residents and to encourage participation in CORNET. These members will also serve as a point of contact for academic pediatric fellows and residents interested in collaborating with CORNET on research projects.
Responsibilities include:
- Help advance the mission and vision of CORNET
- Attend monthly Committee calls
- Attend APA regional conference and/or PAS Fellow Conference to represent CORNET
- Be available to help review/discuss peer research projects prior to and during CORNET submission process
- Participate in the review of proposals submitted to CORNET
- Help in identifying the next CORNET Fellow and Resident Representative
- Interact with the Special Interest Groups to encourage engagement
Meeting Requirements: CORNET’s Executive and Steering Committees meeting via videoconference monthly and in-person at PAS.
CORNET is seeking members from Region I and IX to serve as members of the CORNET Executive Committee in the role as the Regional Research Chair. Region I includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and New Brunswick. Region IX includes Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico, Southern California, and Utah. The Role of a CORNET Regional Research Chair is to:
- Facilitate communication among the Region’s CORNET member sites and direct information to and from the Executive Committee.
- Set up a regional email listserv and/or make periodic check-ins to regional training programs.
- Provide communication at least quarterly with regional sites.
- Represent and present updates about CORNET at Regional APA meetings. Materials can be obtained from the Network Director or Coordinator.
- Solicit additional institutions/practices within their region to participate in CORNET.
- Help generate research study ideas from regional practices.
- Communicate with regional practices about upcoming research studies and recruit interested practice sites.
- Assist participating practices whenever possible in the implementation of research studies through mentoring role and become members of research teams.
- Help maintain regional lists of programs.
- Advise on possible funding opportunities.
Meeting Requirements: CORNET’s Executive Committee meets every other month via videoconference monthly and in-person at PAS.
Individuals should consider applying for the Education Committee Chair position come this Fall. The application window for this Board of Directors position will open this fall.
National advisers will be assigned to an Educational Scholar based on the degree of overlap of the scholar's proposed project. Each Scholar already has a local mentor who will provide day-to-day advice. We are seeking national advisers who will:
- Provide a broad academic overview and discuss research and career development.
- Work with their mentee over the three years of the program and have regular contact (e.g., two telephone calls per month).
- Attend the Educational Scholar reception at PAS on Sunday. PAS also serves as a great venue to meet with the mentee in person.
The APA Health Care Delivery Committee is responsible for setting the health care delivery strategies for the organization. As a committee member, you will help to set these strategies.
Commitment
Meets quarterly via teleconference.
Seeking individuals to assist with reviewing the APA Junior Faculty Teaching Award.
Commitment
Members of this judges panel will serve three year terms. Panel will correspond via email and may schedule as many calls as needed in order to recommend an awardee. The majority of the work will happen in February and March.
Roles and Responsibilities
Individuals are responsible for reviewing and scoring applications and recommending the award winner to the Education Executive Committee.
Seeking individuals to assist with reviewing the APA Junior Faculty Teaching Award.
Commitment
Members of this judges panel will serve three year terms. Panel will correspond via email and may schedule as many calls as needed in order to recommend an awardee. The majority of the work will happen in February and March.
Roles and Responsibilities
Individuals are responsible for reviewing and scoring applications and recommending the award winner to the Education Executive Committee.
Seeking new members to help create and deliver the APA Medical Education Journal Club. The program offers quarterly webinar-based journal clubs for all interested medical educators to discuss new, innovative, and sometimes controversial articles published in the medical education literature. We are seeking engaged, invested members of all experience levels (including trainees) of the Education Committee to participate in planning this programming.
Commitment
- Each member will prepare and co-host one webinar a year with a partner from the group
- Senior and junior educators will be paired together.
- Will meet by phone at least semi-annually to plan the overall content and critically review the webinars and process
Qualifications
- Senior and junior educators interested in looking critically at current medical education literature
- Must have strong organizational and planning skills, as well as comfort in speaking on webinars
- Must also be creative and collaborative
Benefits
- Working with likeminded medical educators
- Involvement in the APA at the national level
- Enhancing the dissemination of medical education scholarship
Questions
Please contact Justin Triemstra at justin.triemstra@helendevoschildrens.org.
Individuals should consider applying for the Membership, Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair position come this Fall. The application window for this Board of Directors position will open this fall.
Junior mentors are fellows and junior faculty who are interested in mentoring in the program. Junior mentors provide “nuts and bolts” advice to their NCScholar in areas such as choosing and applying to a fellowship, career development, starting and academic career, selecting a research project, negotiating, work/life balance, etc. In our experience, the junior mentorship is an enriching experience if the junior mentor:
- Stays in regular contact with your NCScholar during the year (via email, phone, listservs, etc.).
- Attends the pre-PAS New Century Scholars conference the day before PAS begins (usually the Friday before PAS, beginning at noon).
- Attends the NCScholars dinner banquet that evening.
- Meets with their NCScholar during PAS; for example, meeting for coffee or lunch attending a scientific session with him/her.
- Participates in program evaluation (questionnaires, etc.).
- Is a pediatric generalist or a subspecialist.
Senior mentors are mid and senior level faculty members of the APA who have a serious commitment to hands-on mentorship, and who are willing to volunteer their time to mentor in this program. Senior mentors provide “big picture” advice to the NCScholar regarding career planning, help in developing specific research and educational scholarship plans, and welcome the NCScholar into the APA and academic pediatric “culture”. In our experience, the senior mentorship is an enriching experience if the senior mentor:
- Stays in regular contact with your NCScholar during the year (via email, phone, listserv, etc.).
- Attends the NCScholar dinner banquet held the evening before PAS begins
- Meet with your NCScholar during PAS; for example, meeting for coffee or lunch, attending a scientific session with him/her.
- Participates in program evaluation (questionnaires, etc.).
- Is a pediatric generalist or a subspecialist.
The QSIS Program Advisors’ role is critical to the success of the program (and the scholar) and requires commitment of a minimum of 25 hours per year. QSIS Program Advisors are encouraged to meet in person with the scholars at PAS to discuss their projects, CVs and their academic/quality portfolio. We encourage QSIS Program Advisors meet with the scholar 3-6 times a year by phone, in addition to the two scheduled group webinars in September and January that are set up to formally discuss project progress.
QSIS Program Advisors and Home Mentors have different roles in QSIS.
- Although these roles often overlap, we make this distinction to minimize the burden on both Home Mentors and QSIS Program Advisors.
- While Home Mentors are focused on helping the scholars with their scholarly projects, the main role of QSIS Program Advisors is guidance through the QSIS program and career counseling. QSIS Program Advisors are expected to supplement, not duplicate, the effort of the scholar’s self-selected primary Home Mentor at his/her home institution.
- Each scholar has an identified Home Mentor outside the QSIS faculty at the home institution, so QSIS Program Advisors are NOT expected to take on the time-consuming role of a primary mentor. They should, however, monitor to make sure that the scholar’s Home Mentor is providing sufficient support, and notify the QSIS Directors if problems are apparent.
- QSIS Program Advisors and their Scholars are assigned to Scholar Groups, usually composed of 3-4 scholars and their 2-3 assigned QSIS Program Advisors. These groups interact throughout the year via phone calls, 2 scheduled webinars with the scholars and Home Mentors, and meet at RoundTable sessions at QSIS@PAS day to discuss the scholars’ projects.
QSIS Program Advisor Responsibilities
Between PAS meetings:
- Communicate every month or two with scholar regarding project progress
- Join the QSIS Program Advisors conference calls, which occurs four times per year, scheduled by the QSIS Directors
- Review the Summaries for RoundTable reports from the entire Scholar Project Group to be prepared to discuss at QSIS@PAS day.
At PAS meetings:
- Meet with assigned scholars face to face at the PAS meeting to discuss CVs, academic/quality portfolios, project, and overall career goals. If unable to attend PAS, give scholar the choice of meeting by phone or at a different conference.
- If you are unable to attend PAS, notify the Program Directors as soon as possible. Notify your scholars and offer the choice of meeting by phone, at a different conference, or with another faculty member to review career goals, CV and academic portfolio.
QSIS Program Advisors are invited to contact the Program Directors if they have questions or concerns to discuss.
The QSIS Program Director is responsible for overseeing the APA staff carry out the primary functions of the Scholars Program in addition to providing subject matter expertise, faculty and scholar support.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- Three-year term
- Participates in QSIS planning calls
- Assists the APA staff with assigning reviewers and guides the review process
- Works with the APA staff to select new scholars
- Provides the scholars with curriculum, assignments and readings related to their project’s development
- Reviews curriculum, assignments and readings related to project’s development on a per cohort basis
- Selects faculty leaders
- Oversees the assignment of scholars
- Serves as an ambassador of the program
- Assists the APA staff when making key decisions of the program
- Works with the APA staff to submit bi-annual Board reports on the program’s progress
- Works with APA staff as needed to coordinate relevant PAS activities
- Assists with the orientation and transition to the next Program Director(s)
Term:
- 3 years
Method of Appointment:
- Selected by current program directors and executive committee.
Accountability:
- Reports to the Health Care Delivery Chair
Qualifications
- Expertise of the subject topic of the particular scholars program
- Active engagement within the APA
- Interest in the mission of scholars program
Research Executive Committee (REC) ad-hoc members are intimately involved with the development of new research initiatives, providing feedback on programming and relevant activities, monitoring possible funding opportunities, and serving as the research representative on the APA PAS Program Committee.
Nomination and Length of Service
Ad hoc members will serve a three-year term
Qualifications
Complementary expertise in quantitative and qualitative research methods, quality improvement, and educational scholarship.
An accomplished researcher in the field of child health with a particular interest and expertise in line with the APA mission
Be a member of the Academic Pediatric Association in good standing.
A record of successful grant funding, strong writing skills and publications, and a history of mentoring junior researchers,
Have a background in the clinical practice of or familiarity with continuity clinic environments.
Possess an MD, PhD or EdD.
Meeting Requirements
The REC meets via video teleconference quarterly and hosts an APA Research Pillar Meeting at the annual PAS Meeting.
National advisers will be assigned to a Research Scholar based on the degree of overlap of the research topic or proposed research methods. Each Research Scholar already has a local mentor who will provide day-to-day advice. We are seeking national advisers who will:
- Provide a broad academic overview and discuss research and career development.
- Work with their mentee over the three years of the program and have regular contact (e.g., two telephone calls per month).
- Attend the Research Scholar reception at PAS on Sunday. PAS also serves as a great venue to meet with the mentee in person.
The Research Scholars Program is looking for individuals to review applications. Reviewers will receive guidelines for application review and will be requested to review as many as ten applications. Reviewing applications is a great way to learn more about your colleagues, get new ideas and give back to an APA program! The review process is very important to the APA and volunteering as a reviewer will enable you to make a significant contribution to our organization. More information is below.
Requirements:
- Expected time commitment is 2-5 hours for review
- Reviewers will need to be available in October to review applications and participate in a reviewer call. You will have two weeks to review the applications.
- Each reviewer will be asked to review between 5-10 applications.
- Reviewers will score the applicants submitted materials.
Seeking individuals to assist with reviewing the APA Teaching Program Award applicants.
Commitment
Members of this judges panel will serve three year terms. Panel will correspond via email and may schedule as many calls as needed in order to recommend an awardee. The majority of the work will happen in February and March.
Roles and Responsibilities
Individuals are responsible for reviewing and scoring applications and recommending the award winner to the Education Executive Committee.
Seeking new members to join the group that leads the “Update in Medical Education” session at PAS annually. This standing-room-only session, is the product of nine months of work by the Update in Medical Education Committee, and we are recruiting individuals who are diligent, dedicated, and have the time to find the top medical education articles each year. This is a great opportunity to work with other pediatric educators, present at PAS, and submit an article for publication. We are seeking a mix of both junior and senior educators.
Commitment
The position has a three-year term.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Assist Chair as needed with PAS submission
- Participate fully in abstract/article reviews with bulk of work in December-April of each year
- Prepare one topic (3-4 articles) for presentation at the talk at PAS
- Prepare one topic (3-4 articles) for write-up in a journal submission
- Attend PAS annually to present
Questions
Please contact Barrett Fromme at hfromme@bsd.uchicago.edu.
The Young Investigator Awards Program provides awards of up to $15,000 for research by residents, fellows, and junior faculty related to child health promotion, health services research, teaching, or patient care. These awards often serve as a launching pad for talented trainees and young professionals who work under the excellent guidance of mentors at their home institutions. Each awardee works closely with a local mentor at their home institution and should communicate with their National Adviser on a monthly basis over the course of the award year.
Meeting Requirements: Awardees are encouraged to meet with their National Advisers during a special YIA Breakfast held at PAS and regularly meet over the phone/email/videoconference throughout the award year and potentially beyond.
All current APA members are invited to serve as reviewers for the Young Investigator Awards Program submitted proposals. This program provides awards of up to $15,000 for research by residents, fellows, and junior faculty related to child health promotion, health services research, teaching, or patient care. These awards often serve as a launching pad for talented trainees and young professionals who work under the excellent guidance of mentors at their home institutions.
Meeting Requirements: The majority of the reviewers’ work will be conducted via email. The more reviewers, the fewer proposals will be requested of each individual to score. There will be two rounds of applications. The first round will require scoring and feedback of initial proposals. The second round will require scoring and feedback of full proposals in addition to a study section phone call for each offered funding path to determine award recipients.
