Academic Careers in Advocacy: How to get promoted and make a real-world impact

Sunday, April 30, 2023

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM ET

Location: Convention Center: 152 B

CE: Live CME: 1.50

Selected By: APA
Co-sponsored By: ISCHE, AAP, PHM

Chair(s)

Barry Solomon, MD, MPH (he/him/his)

Professor of Pediatrics
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Lisa Chamberlain, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)

Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics
Stanford University School of Medicine
Palo Alto, California, United States

Disclosure(s):

Barry Solomon, MD, MPH: No financial relationships to disclose

Lisa J. Chamberlain, MD, MPH: I do not have any relevant financial / non-financial relationships with any proprietary interests.

Session

Description: Now in the third year of the pandemic many challenges have emerged that threaten child and adolescent wellbeing, including significant learning loss, further marginalization of under-resourced populations, and a Declaration of National Emergency for Child and Adolescent Mental Health issued by AAP, AACAP and CHA. A paradigm shift is required by pediatricians and child health professionals to engage as advocates to address these complex, real-world challenges. Fortunately, the field of academic pediatrics, which has evolved to include advocacy into its educational structure, is now starting to formally embrace advocacy as one pathway to promotion. A recent survey of pediatric department Chairs revealed they view advocacy as increasingly important for faculty and learners, and they similarly responded that advocacy activities were “important” or “very important” when considering faculty career advancement and promotion.

In this joint scholarly session between the APA and APS, one of the first of its kind, we will draw on the strengths of both organizations to advance the conversation of the centrality of advocacy in academic pediatrics. This conversation will be contextualized within the current social context of childhood and state of the field. Overall, we plan to discuss: 1) the importance of advocacy for an academic career in pediatrics; 2) the emerging paths to promotion from exemplar sites, and how these paths vary for clinically vs. research-oriented faculty; 3) the partnerships required for successful advocacy programs; and 4) examining the challenge of sustainability.

Learning Objectives:

Contrast the state of child/adolescent wellbeing today vs. 20 years ago, identifying population level trends requiring advocacy engagement by pediatricians and other child health professionals.
Demonstrate the range of programs where advocacy is incorporated into appointments and promotions processes, including metrics and the process of advocacy inclusion;
Appraise the state of pediatric programs where institutionalized advocacy is rooted in a wide range of partners and has sustainable financial support.

Presentations:

11:00 AM – 11:10 AM ET

Framing introduction: Overview of the evolving well-being of children and adolescents
Speaker: Barry Solomon, MD, MPH (he/him/his) – Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
11:10 AM – 11:20 AM ET

Overview of academic landscape from perspective of pediatric department chairs, hospital CEO & government relations officials
Speaker: Lisa J. Chamberlain, MD, MPH (she/her/hers) – Stanford Univeristy School of Medicine
11:20 AM – 11:30 AM ET

A "how to" guide for impacting the promotion process via advocacy - Case example from Duke
Speaker: Debra Best, MD (she/her/hers) – Duke University School of Medicine
11:30 AM – 11:40 AM ET

A "how to" guide for impacting the promotion process via advocacy - Case example from Nationwide Children's
Speaker: Sara Bode, MD (she/her/hers) – Nationwide Children’s Hospital
11:40 AM – 11:45 AM ET

Incorporating advocacy metrics into A&P: How to measure and describe community impact
11:45 AM – 11:50 AM ET

Incorporating advocacy metrics into A&P: How to measure and describe social media impact
Speaker: Anita Shah, DO MMS MPH (she/her/hers) – Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
11:50 AM – 11:55 AM ET

Incorporating advocacy metrics into A&P: How to measure and describe impact with legislative officials
Speaker: MONA Patel, MD (she/her/hers) – Children's Hospital Los Angeles
11:55 AM – 12:05 PM ET

Advocacy: Models of sustainability
Speaker: Lee S. Beers, MD (she/her/hers) – Children's National Hospital
12:05 PM – 12:15 PM ET

Advocacy: Models of longitudinal community engagement
Speaker: Jeff Kaczorowski, MD (he/him/his) – University of Rochester Golisano Childre's Hospital
12:15 PM – 12:30 PM ET

Moderated Q&A and Closing remarks
Speaker: Lisa Robinson, MD (she/her/hers) – University of Toronto