PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-493
Author(s):  
Edgar E. Martmer

THE GROWTH and development of the American Academy of Pediatrics are matters of record set forth in able fashion by Marshall Pease in his History of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Paul Beaven's For the Welfare of Children, a compilation of the Presidential Addresses beginning with Dr. Isaac Abt's presentation at the first annual meeting of this organization. These two volumes recite the accomplishments of the Academy during its first 25 years. The small group of 32 men present at the organizational meeting in 1930 has increased to more than 5,000 members distributed throughout the western hemisphere. The founders conceived the Academy as a service group dedicated to the improvement of child health and welfare. Able leaders through the years have strengthened its position and influence by their untiring efforts to attain these objectives and have been aided at all times by the co-operation of the members. The influence of the Academy in matters relating to child health and welfare is demonstrated by the respect with which its pronouncements are received by medical organizations, governmental agencies and lay groups. Its counsel is sought whenever matters relating to child health and welfare are considered. We have a great responsibility to maintain our position in the field of child health and welfare and to extend the influence of the Academy. We must continue to be an organization of high ideals and noble purposes, for our growth demonstrates our objectives are worthwhile. The success which the Academy has achieved in fostering interest in pediatrics and correlating all aspects of the work for the welfare of children has been accomplished by providing leadership, our willingness to co-operate with interested groups, and through education.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 673-676
Author(s):  
James B. Gillespie

The history of the American Academy of Pediatrics is a chronicle of practical idealism. I will not attempt to recount recent and past achievements of our society, for most have been well documented. It is beyond my capacity to identify the changes in Academy role and structure which may occur in our rapidly changing and complex social and medical environment. However, I do wish to reflect briefly on certain recent programs and actions which point up the expanding role and broader scope of interests of the Academy. These actions and interests, hallmarks of maturity and enhanced concepts of responsibility and accountability, are significant of our times. Wisdom has been gained as we have stood upon the shoulders of our predecessors. Today's Academy cannot be separated from the past. We are deeply indebted to the perceptive, astute leadership of other days and to a dedicated membership which, for 44 years, has closely adhered to our stated goals. We continue to value their counsel. The contributions of those who preceded us are the principal reason why we are where we are today. There is justifiable optimism for the assumption that the Academy will continue its leadership role as the major advocate for improved child health in the Americas. I sincerely believe that success will come to a society whose principal objective is placing concern for others higher on the scale of values of more and more people. We are reassured by a membership and leadership dedicated to service above self. In the words of Robert Frost: "There cannot be much to fear in a country where so many right faces are going by.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1019-1019
Author(s):  
Carl C. Fischer

FROM TIME to time Presidents of the American Academy of Pediatrics have used this means of sharing with the fellowship, thoughts which seem to them to be of mutual interest. Last year, President George Wheatley had such a message in every issue, covering a wide variety of interesting and stimulating topics. I will not plan to necessarily continue this policy of having a message for each issue, but will do so whenever the subject matter seems to warrant one. At this, the beginning of a new year for the Academy, it seems appropriate to present to the membership at large a few of the thoughts which I presented in Chicago upon my inauguration as your President. It has recently been my pleasure to reread the two little volumes sent to all Academy Fellows a few years ago, the one containing the Presidential addresses of the first 20 presidents, and the other, Dr. Marshall Pease's stimulating "History of the Academy." I heartily recommend these to any of you who might be interested in the conception, delivery and growth and development of our organization. Of first importance at this time, it seems to me, is the review of the primary objectives of our Academy as originally drawn up by Dr. Grulee and his associates more than 30 years ago. These are: "The object of the Academy shall be to foster and stimulate interest in Pediatrics and correlate all aspects of the word for the welfare of children which properly come within the scope of pediatrics."


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-128
Author(s):  
Hugh C. Thompson

In the April 1977 issue of Pediatrics (59:636, 1977), Dr. Cunningham recommends that the patient's medical record be given to the family to keep. He urges that the Committee on Standards of Child Health Care consider this subject. For at least 20 years the American Academy of Pediatrics has published for this very purpose, a "Child Health Record." This is publication HE-4 of the Academy and was last revised in 1968. The central office of the Academy tells me that, at the present time, between 50,000 and 100,000 of these are sold annually to physicians for the distribution that Dr. Cunningham recommends.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-133
Author(s):  
Edgar O. Ledbetter

The following directory contains more than 80 organizations that recruit US pediatricians for both long- and short-term service opportunities overseas. This list was compiled by the staff of the Task Force on International Child Health of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Facts concerning each program were obtained through correspondence and telephone interviews with organization representatives. We have tried to make the list as complete and current as possible. Anyone knowing of a service organization that has been omitted is encouraged to supply the necessary information to:


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 814-816
Author(s):  
JAMES L. TROUTMAN ◽  
JEFFREY A. WRIGHT ◽  
DONALD L. SHIFRIN

Pediatric hotlines gives parents and interested parties the opportunity to call pediatricians with questions regarding child health issues. More than a dozen such hotlines have been held by state chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics in all regions of the United States. They were promoted by regional newspapers and generally preceded by feature articles centered on child health concerns. The first hotline was held in 1987 by pediatricians in Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia in conjunction with the Washington, DC, chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the newspaper USA Today. Seattle-area pediatricians and The Seattle Times sponsored a 1-day, 8-hour hotline in March 1989.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 465-469
Author(s):  
Russell W. Mapes

For any national organization striving to keep pace with increasingly diverse responsibilities and objectives, there are appropriate times when that organization must pause, reflect, and project before moving forward to meet the goals to which it has dedicated its programs and priorities. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was June 23, 1930 that 35 pediatricians met in Harper Hospital in Detroit to establish the Academy as the organization to speak for the interests and health of children, as well as the interests of its pediatric members. This year also marks the beginning of a new decade, a decade which holds great promise for the future of pediatrics but a decade which also presents significant challenges which we must meet if we are to deliver quality health care to all children. The American Academy of Pediatrics is indeed fortunate to be able to draw from the accomplishments of a progressive history of achievement, distinguished by the vision of its early founders. In the 1920's the medical community widely predicted that pediatrics was disappearing as a specialty, that in a few years it would merge into the field of general medicine. Concern was also expressed that pediatrics was not sufficiently represented in the echelons of organized medicine and, consequently, the cause of child health was not being served adequately. To pediatricians like Isaac A. Abt, the first president of the Academy, to John L. Morse, its first vice-president, and to Clifford G. Grulee, the Academy's pioneering executive director, these were very real challenges, but they were not causes for pessimism or defeatism.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 93 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-11
Author(s):  

The American Academy of Pediatrics is requesting nominations for the 1994 E. H. Christopherson Lectureship on International Child Health. Nominees must be internationally recognized individuals (not necessarily physicians) who have made significant contributions to international child health. The nomination deadline is January 31, 1994. For additional information contact: Jean Dow, MEd, Director of the Division of Medical Journals, or Kyle Ostler, Division Secretary, American Academy of Pediatrics, 141 Northwest Point Boulevard, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. Tel.:800-433-9016.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-130

To be selected as President of the American Academy of Pediatrics is the greatest honor that could be given me. I approach this year with humility and pledge my best efforts. Never before in the brief history of the Academy has the pressure of time been so enormous and demanded as much immediate vigorous effort as now for the welfare of children. The many problems accompanied by this temporal pressure need no enumeration here. Dr. Logan has mentioned several. With each one, the degree of urgency and the length of time needed to accomplish realistic goals need evaluation. The fact that many problems will take years or decades to solve makes no less important the necessity to address ourselves to them now, before the welfare of a generation of children suffers irrevocably, or before alternative and less desirable solutions are imposed by government or other agencies. The American people are impatient. Witness only Head Start. The Administration was impatient to start the operation before it was pretested so that one year crop of 5 year olds would not be deprived of help. Many Fellows of the Academy, by the same token, have been impatient because the health aspects are not still functioning smoothly. If Head Start works well across the country in 10 years, it will have been a notable achievement. These factors of temporal pressure and impatience disturb pediatricians. Our training as scientists, which advocates careful and deliberate study of problems, makes us distrust hasty diagnosis or ill-considered therapy.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1976 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 813-814
Author(s):  
Robert D. Burnett ◽  

During the past several years as Chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Pediatric Manpower I have witnessed the development of the concept of the pediatric nurse associate (PNA) within the specialty of pediatrics. In addition, I have also been aware of the controversies within the AAP membership regarding the role of the PNA in child health care delivery. Many of you will recall the concern of the mid-1960's which widely publicized an impending catastrophic shortage of pediatricians.


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