The Academic Pediatric Association: 50 Years of Contributions to Pediatric Education

Abstract

IN INTERVIEWS FOR the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Oral History Project, a number of early APA presidents identify attention to education as a distinguishing feature of the association from its inception. Robert Haggerty notes, “A big issue for the APA was that it is one of the few places where we talked about education. I don’t remember hardly any SPR or APS meetings talking about education, but educational interventions and educational challenges were always a part of the APA.” Evan Charney adds, “The fact that medical education was something that deserved careful attention and had a place in the academic environment was, I believe, something that the APA introduced.” During the past 50 years, the “careful attention” and “educational interventions” have resulted in the APA and its members playing a leading role in advancing education in ambulatory and other general pediatrics settings. I am grateful to Academic Pediatrics’ senior editor for education, Maryellen Gusic, for her invitation to provide a personalized review of education in the APA. This article is not intended to be a general review of pediatric education in the past half century, to which many pediatric organizations have contributed greatly. The focus on the APA is part of the celebration of the association’s 50th anniversary. The historical account is based on the 4 previous histories of the APA; minutes of all meetings and conference calls of the board of directors, 1960–2010; APA Oral History Project interviews of founders and presidents, 1961–1980; and personal recollections. Because the association and its members have contributed to pediatric education in many ways and at every level of learner, organizing the article was challenging. Ultimately, I chose to identify themes and categorize activities rather than present a strictly chronologic listing of events. The 4 sections that follow are: educational areas addressed by the APA (skillful teaching, faculty development, content and curricula, and educational scholarship); contributions of APA leaders to education-related activities of other organizations; the interrelationship of education with the other major areas of APA activity (health care delivery, public policy and advocacy, and research); and the future.