Dave Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP - District IV Chairperson

Recently, it was my pleasure to attend an Annual Meeting of one of the Chapters in our District.  The Chapter staff worked really hard to put together a meeting that would appeal to young pediatricians and scheduled the meeting on an October Saturday in the middle of the state in a comfortable, affordable hotel.  The CME portion of the meeting included approximately 6 hours of sessions that were a combination of 4 very practical lecture presentations and 2 small group discussions.  Lunch and dessert were provided on-site during the small group discussion periods.  There was a most enjoyable child-oriented social activity that included dinner for families after the meeting that evening.  I arrived the night before and attended an excellent, well-attended Chapter Board meeting early Saturday, before the Annual Meeting began.  I participated in the CME meeting and dinner activities and had a good time talking with Chapter pediatricians, staff, and non-pediatrician family members of attendees.   The Chapter staff did a super job of putting this meeting together.  

In spite of all the efforts of the Chapter staff and leadership, no more than 20 pediatricians attended the meeting (excluding Chapter Board members).  This was most disappointing for the Chapter staff and leadership and young pediatricians who planned  and attended the meeting.   This group felt like they had wasted Chapter resources by planning such a meeting and wondered what the Chapter would need to do to attract young pediatricians to their meetings.  They wondered why so few older pediatricians decided not to attend this Annual Chapter Meeting; as an older pediatrician, I really learned a lot by attending the CME portion of the meeting and enjoyed the informal conversations with the people who attended the meeting.  

Several weeks later, I attended the AAP’s Chapter Advocacy Summit.  All of our Chapters were represented:  Pediatricians Josh Honaker (KY), Herb Clegg (NC), Peter Morris (NC), Steve Wegner (NC), Bob Schwartz (NC), Lyndon Key (SC), Dane Pierce (SC), Joe Lentz (TN), William “Bif” Reese (VA), and Chapter Executive Directors Steve Shore (NC) and Cathy Fenner (TN).  We all flew out to Santa Fe , NM , spent at least two nights, and attended CME sessions designed to make us better child advocates.  The meeting was directed by the AAP Committee on State Government Affairs; John Rusher, MD, (NC) is a District IV member of this committee who helped facilitate the meeting.  As I sat in sessions at the Summit , I reflected upon why pediatricians attend face-to-face meetings, and tried to decide in my own mind if the face-to-face meetings are really worth the time, expense and effort that goes into them.  

As a busy pediatrician who is always trying to take our community practice, state Chapter, and national AAP to the “next level,” I must leave my home and practice environment for brief periods of time if I am to think creatively about where I am and where I am going with my career.  Conference calls, teleconferences, and internet communication options just do not force me to stop what I am doing in my everyday life and focus on the “big picture” of child health.   Most of the innovations that I have helped develop in practice and organized pediatrics have occurred because of my interactions with other pediatricians, child health professionals and Chapter/AAP staff at out-of-town meetings.  

Just during the Summit, it occurred to me that North Carolina needs a Children’s Cabinet like the one in New Mexico, that our Chapters need to really look at their states’ Title V Programs to assure that all options are being considered as Chapters work with state government Title V administrators to create the best child health programs possible in our states and that every member of the Academy needs to have a relationship with his/her members of Congress as Congress considers massive cuts to children’s programs while granting more tax-cuts to our wealthiest citizens and appropriating never-ending streams of money to our wars abroad.  I am not sure that I would have developed renewed fervor for these important child health and pediatrician causes if I had not attended the Summit .

In North Carolina , we combine fellowship, CME, state government strategy sessions and Chapter business activities in three Open Forums that the Chapter organizes and convenes in three different geographic areas of the state during each fiscal year.  I would venture to say that these face-to-face meetings involving a rather large, diverse group of child advocates from government, pediatrics, business, and the lay citizenry are responsible for our state having excellent child health programs that work for children, families and pediatricians.   I am convinced that these face-to-face meetings could not have been replaced by conference calls, internet communication, or any other long-distance creation that might take the place of a real meeting.   

So, as we try to move our Chapters forward in our efforts to improve the health of children and families, and to address the needs of the pediatricians who care for children and families, let us commit ourselves to participating in face-to-face meetings of our Chapters, not so much for our own selfish needs for more scientific information, but for our calling as pediatricians who must see the “big picture” of child health and work with a variety of individuals and groups to implement the larger agenda of our Chapters and the AAP.   

Dave Tayloe, Jr., MD, FAAP
November 2005