In January We Jump
Into new grant and mentorship opportunities
Despite the pandemic, we remain in our communities
Going to learn about caring for refugees
And the mental health of mom's to be
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President's Column
Nelson Branco, MD, FAAP
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I hope that all of you had a chance to relax and enjoy the holiday season with friends and family. We are all looking forward to a new year where we can shift from pandemic to endemic (and hopefully low rates of COVID, and low morbidity). The current spike in cases due to the Omicron variant has certainly been felt in my practice, and I know it’s been the same for all of you.
I’d like to take a moment to look back on what our chapter accomplished in 2021, and what we have to look forward to in 2022. The chapter staff, including not only our current staff - Isra Uz-Zaman and Megan Warner, but the staff who have departed to pursue their career goals - Aliza Newman and Sabah Elias - have worked hard on our behalf. Without them, the chapter would not be what it is. I am grateful for their work, and for the opportunity to work with them on behalf of the pediatricians of Chapter 1.
Our chapter committees and staff have done incredible work over the past year. An exhaustive list of all of the events and activities would take up the entire newsletter, and so I will highlight some (read: the ones I can remember right now, as I write this column way past deadline!). Forgive me in advance if I don’t mention your favorite event/project/activity.
We have continued to provide interesting and engaging CME - many thanks to my fellow CME Committee members for helping keep us up-to-date and making sure we have the information necessary to care for our patients. The Advocacy Committee reimagined the ACT conference into a series of webinars that helped inspire us, train us and improve our advocacy skills, all while collaborating with the AAP-CA State Government Affairs Committee and looking for ways to advocate for kids and pediatricians locally. The Climate Change and Health Committee put on several excellent Chapter Chat events, helped advocate locally and collaborated with other chapter committees across the state, and moved from being a task force to a committee. Congratulations and thank you to Drs. Lisa Patel, Amanda Millstein, Sarah Schear and Reshma Shah, along with all of the committee members.
Several other committees, as well as our colleagues who were working on our chapter grants, jumped in to host Chapter Chats as well. With all of the behavioral health issues we see in our offices every day, we are grateful to have the Mental Health Committee and the Committee on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics share their expertise and help us find resources for our patients. The Immigrant Health Task Force put on several excellent Chapter Chats, including a timely discussion about how we can support the needs of Afghan refugees and on the details and impact of the Public Charge Rule. The Practice Support Task Force helped us share ideas on how to manage our practices and clinics, and continues to do so regularly through their email group.
This year we were awarded many grants that helped us share information and support our members. The grants addressed different topics - ACES, social determinants of health and resiliency, Public Charge Rule misinformation, social media and COVID vaccine misinformation, infection control and developmental pediatrics. Grants have grown to become a significant part of our CA1 budget. All of these projects are ongoing, and we continue to look for more opportunities to bring grants and resources to our chapter and our chapter members.
As we move into 2022, we hope to recruit chapter members to our open Member At Large positions for San Francisco and North Valley. We are recruiting for a chapter member to serve as our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Champion. We will continue to support chapter members who are applying for CATCH grants, encourage and assist in writing Annual Leadership Forum resolutions, nominate and support chapter members who are applying for AAP National positions and collaborate with our colleagues at AAP California and District IX on statewide issues. COVID has had a significant impact on all of us. Despite the pandemic, because of the pandemic and throughout the pandemic, we have worked together to care for each other, for our patients and for everyone in our communities. I know that 2022 will bring more of the same, and better.
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Vice President’s Column
Nicole Webb, MD, FAAP
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Happy New Year, AAP CA-1! However you spent it, however different it may have looked than in years past, we sincerely hope you had some time to engage in reflection, rest, and self-care.
With the new year comes new opportunities. Did you know that January is National Mentoring Month?
As many of us know, mentorship can have a truly profound impact on our lives and careers, not just in terms of career advancement and promotion, but also in terms of professional fulfillment, networking, idea sharing, and so much more. Perhaps most importantly, mentorship has been shown to be particularly critical to women and to those underrepresented in medicine (URM), while simultaneously those groups often report reduced access to effective mentorship, particularly early in their careers.
As we all know, there is a critical need for greater diversity in medicine, including pediatrics, and we believe robust and intentional mentorship is one way of addressing that. To support our members who are underrepresented in medicine, the AAP Mentorship Program is hosting a mentorship initiative for the month of January. If you are interested in this opportunity, you can click on the link above to learn more and to sign up. You can also find more information here.
Equally important, if you would like to share your experience as a mentor, we need your participation as well and you can sign up here. Never discount the benefit of your own lived experiences in helping a peer or junior colleague or learner; each of you have diverse and rich experiences and insight to offer.
I was already through my residency and into my first couple of years of practice before I began to realize the critical importance of mentorship, and I have been incredibly fortunate in having wonderful mentors since. While some of these have been from within my own institution, many others have been through connections I made within the AAP, including the Section on Early Career Physicians and our chapter in particular.
If you have questions about the AAP Mentorship Program specifically, you can contact Britt Nagy. I can tell you from personal experience that she is amazing and she can get you the info you need, or get you to the person who can! If you have more specific questions for the chapter or any of the officers, you can email info@aapca1.org.
As always, we want to hear from you. We are here to help you achieve your goals so let us know how we can help!
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Why I do this Work
Omoniyi Omotoso, MD, MPH, FAAP, Contra Costa / Solano MAL
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"Many work. Some enjoy their work. Fewer do what they love. I'm fortunate to be one of the those where every day I witness children and families growing together even in brief moments like couple night at the birth hospital. Each experience enriching. As we say, children are the future. And as a pediatrician, I get to support and witness it." |
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MAL Vacancy - North Valley |
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We are looking for Pediatricians that work or reside in the North Valley Territory to become a Member-at-Large. As a Member-at-Large, you will become a point of contact for that region responding to media inquiries, welcoming new members, writing a newsletter column annually, as well as attending our quarterly board meetings. If you are interested, or have a physician that you would like to nominate, please contact info@aapca1.org.
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Our next book for the book club has been announced it is The Cape Doctor by EJ Levy! To stay in the loop for the latest updates, complete our survey linked below to join the club! For questions, email info@aapca1.org.
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Opportunities for Your Benefit |
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Advocacy Training Grant
The AAP Community Pediatrics Training Initiative will support 4 pediatric faculty-resident pairs to attend the 2022 AAP Advocacy Conference (formerly named the Legislative Conference) on March 20-22, 2022. Following the conference, grantees will be required to partner with their chapters to implement an educational project to strengthen the advocacy skills of others in their program and enhance their residency program’s advocacy training and curriculum. The grant covers conference registration and provides the chapter with $1,000 maximum to support the project in partnership with the residency program. Applications and required letters of support are due by Friday, January 14, 2022 (12:00 am ET). View the guidelines and preview the application.
Contact: Laura Conklin in Healthy Resilient Children, Youth, and Families
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AAP CATCH Grant Application Open
The CATCH Call for Proposals will be open through January 24, 2022. Funds are available for pediatrician-led community-based programs that address a wide variety of child health issues. Visit the CATCH website for more details. Browse the Community Pediatrics Funded Project list from 2017 to the present.
Application deadline: January 24 11:59 p.m. CST
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January 12: SODBP Peer-to-Peer Session 4: Red Flags for Baby Blues - Perinatal Depression - REGISTER HERE!
January 20: SOECP: Leadership, Equity, and Advancements in Pediatrics - LEARN MORE!
January 26: Chapter Chat on Clinical Recommendations & Models of Care for Newcomer Children - REGISTER HERE!
February 9: ACT Workshop #3 Resolution Writing for the ALF - REGISTER HERE!
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Add our social media accounts to get the latest chapter updates!
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Your membership makes a difference for children in California, thank you!
The AAPCA1's ability to advocate on behalf of children is only as strong as the support we receive from our members. Encourage your colleagues to join today by visiting the AAPCA1 website.
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Our mission is to promote the optimal health and development of children and
adolescents of Northern California in partnership with their families and communities, and to support the pediatricians who care for them.
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Executive Committee:
President: Nelson Branco • Vice President: Nicole Webb
• Secretary: Janice Kim • Treasurer: Nivedita More • Past President: Raelene Walker
Executive Director: Isra Uz-Zaman
Board Members:
North Valley MAL: Thiyagu Ganesan • Sacramento Valley MAL: Lena van der List • Central Valley MAL: Deborah Shassetz • South Valley MAL: Vacant • San Francisco MAL: Vacant • Santa Clara MAL: Meera Sankar • San Mateo MAL: Neel Patel • North Coastal MAL: Jeffrey Ribordy • Monterey Bay MAL: Graciela Wilcox • Alameda MAL: Reshem Agarwal
• Contra Costa/Solano MAL: Omoniyi Omotoso
Pediatric Insider News Editors:
• Mika Hiramatsu • Deborah Shassetz • Alyssa Velasco
Staff:
• Project Coordinator: Megan Warner
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