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President-Elect's Message

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December 2011 Newsletter Article

Jaffe A message to our 2000^th Member

As I returned, energized from our recent APA Strategic Planning Meeting, I learned that we had just welcomed our 2000^th member to the APA! By all accounts, this is an historic high point in APA membership, and I am so thrilled that this happened in conjunction with our work on strategic planning. A major focus of planning was on serving the APA membership in new and creative ways. So I wondered who our 2000^th member might be. To get a clue, I looked at the most recent membership application list, where you, our 2000^th member are undoubtedly lurking.

Perhaps you are the pediatric resident, who might be interested in the Pediatric Resident or Women in Medicine or Continuity SIGs or the New Century Scholars Program or in attending or networking at regional or national meetings or participating in CORNET, our continuity clinic research network. Perhaps you are the Fellow in Pediatric Emergency Medicine or Hospital Medicine, who might apply for a Young Investigator Award or present research at a national PAS meeting or join the Emergency Medicine or Hospitalist SIG or one of the many topic oriented SIGs, such as Injury Control, Environmental Health, Tobacco Issues or our newest SIG on simulation. Maybe you are the Assistant Professor in General Academic Pediatrics or Hospital Medicine with a focus on education who might be interested in the Educational Scholars Program or one of the many educationally focused SIGs. Or, maybe, you will benefit from the networking within the APA that will help with promotion and national recognition. Perhaps you are the postdoctoral fellow or the general academic pediatrics fellow who would be a good candidate for the new Research Scholars Program that will be offered for the first time next year. Perhaps you are the associate professor or division chief who could serve as a mentor in a scholars program or join in some of our exciting new mentorship opportunities. Yes, the APA will even be experimenting with speed-mentoring! Perhaps as our 2000^th member you will find a way to become an active member of one of our Committees: Education, Research, Public Policy/Advocacy or Health Care Delivery. I look forward to meeting you at the next PAS meeting as you stand by your poster or up on a platform sharing a scholarly project with colleagues from all over the world and proudly wearing your APA new member badge.

These examples only begin to cover the wealth of APA services available to members new and returning. The APA is vibrant, teeming with activities to help members serve children and children's health throughout our careers. It is also evolving, most recently evidenced by our strategic planning retreat during which more than 30 present and past board members and leaders gathered to renew our strategic plan with a goal to strengthen and expand the value APA adds for all of us and the children we serve. (Lots more to come about this!)

So to you, our 2000^th member, I say welcome! What a wonderful time to join the APA. Dig in, join a SIG or two or five, join a committee, apply for an award, become a scholar and bring your friends and colleagues!