American Academy of Pediatrics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was founded in 1930 and now has 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists as members. The AAP’s mission is to attain optimal physical, mental and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.
Based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, with an office in Washington, DC, the AAP has approximately 390 employees working on behalf of children’s health.
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[edit] What is a Pediatrician?
Pediatricians are physicians who care for children. Children have different health care needs, both medical and emotional, than adults. Pediatricians are trained to prevent and manage health problems in infants, children, teens and young adults.
[edit] Training
To become a pediatrician, a doctor must take special courses for three or more years after medical school, which is called residency. Once residency has been completed, the physician can opt to become board-certified by taking a test issued by the American Board of Pediatrics. The doctor can then become a Fellow (or member) of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP).
Pediatricians work with children and families on a number of issues including:
- Growth and development
- Illnesses
- Nutrition
- Immunizations
- Injury prevention and treatment
- Physical fitness
Pediatricians also provide guidance on other issues, such as:
- Behavior
- Emotional or family problems
- Learning and other school problems
- Preventing and dealing with drug abuse
- Puberty and other teen concerns
- Television, the Internet and other media
[edit] AAP Structure
The AAP is governed by a Board of Directors. Membership is divided into 10 geographical regions and each region is represented by a board member. On a more local level, there are 59 chapters within the United States and seven chapters in Canada.
[edit] Educational Opportunities
One of the AAP’s main goals is to prepare its members to be the most-qualified health professionals who care and advocate for children. Through its continuing medical education (CME) program, members can develop, maintain, and/or increase their knowledge, skills and professional performance. These programs reflect the fact that the practice of pediatrics is broad-based, covering prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases relevant to children.
In addition to CME, the AAP offers members the opportunity to learn from each other through specialized committees, sections and councils. There are more than 30 committees, 48 sections and six councils - each representing a specific area of practice within pediatrics. These groups offer educational activities and develop guidelines and practice standards to ensure high-quality, consistent care for children.
[edit] AAP Publications
The AAP is the world’s largest publisher of pediatric materials, producing more than 480 publications and electronic products for pediatricians, other health care professionals, child care professionals, caregivers and parents. The AAP publishes a broad range of professional references and textbooks, practice management publications, patient education materials and parenting books.
The AAP strives to be the educational resource for pediatricians around the world and a source of credible, timely publications on pediatric health care. More than 12,000 publications are shipped annually to more than 140 countries.
[edit] Advocating for Children
The AAP and its members work at the local level in hospitals, offices and clinics and in state and federal government to protect the well being of children. With support and resources from the AAP, pediatricians communicate with legislators, testify, coordinate media events and participate in approporiate election activities.
The AAP Federal Advocacy Action Network (FAAN) helps to unite the voices of thousands of pediatricians in the fight for better public policies. Members of the FAAN helped secure legislative successes that included passing of the Pediatric Rule, funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and improving a Head Start bill in the House of Representatives. The FAAN bases its activities on issues moving through Congress or the administration, including children's health care coverage, immunizations, disaster preparedness, pediatric research and quality improvement.
[edit] Public Relations
As part of its effort to bring attention to child health issues, the AAP’s public relations staff provides journalists with resources to ensure timely and accurate information is disseminated to the public. The AAP distributes a monthly media mailing to some 2,000 news outlets. The AAP also has public service announcements (PSAs) on influenza and obesity that are available for use by broadcast outlets.
In 2007, the AAP issued a policy statement on global warming entitled Global Climate Change and Children's Health:
- There is broad scientific consensus that Earth's climate is warming rapidly and at an accelerating rate. Human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, are very likely (>90% probability) to be the main cause of this warming. Climate-sensitive changes in ecosystems are already being observed, and fundamental, potentially irreversible, ecological changes may occur in the coming decades. Conservative environmental estimates of the impact of climate changes that are already in process indicate that they will result in numerous health effects to children.
- Anticipated direct health consequences of climate change include injury and death from extreme weather events and natural disasters, increases in climate-sensitive infectious diseases, increases in air pollution–related illness, and more heat-related, potentially fatal, illness. Within all of these categories, children have increased vulnerability compared with other groups.[1]
