Hospital Medicine
The Academic Pediatric Association: The First 50 Years
At the 1953 meeting of the American Pediatric Society and Society for Pediatric Research (APS-SPR), Barbara Korsch convened an informal gathering of individuals who shared the notion that outpatient care deserved more attention. Chairs, including those who were “not stereotyped with ambulatory pediatrics,” such as Saul Krugman and Emmett Holt, attended, validating ambulatory pediatrics as “worthy of attention.”1 Informal meetings ensued annually for several years. By the end of the decade, the sentiment of individuals such as Loren MacKinney was that it was time “to actually do some work.”2 Barbara Korsch surveyed the meeting participants to determine what that work might be.Future of Academic General Pediatrics—Areas of Opportunity
The dynamic change in the United States occurring in the diversity of pediatric populations and in health care will dramatically influence many dimensions of care, teaching, research, and advocacy in academic general pediatrics. By 2025, the nonwhite and Hispanic pediatric population will increase to 50% (Figure 1),1,2 leading the demographic change that is projected to occur in the whole United States population by 2050. This shift in population demographics is occurring concurrently with significant changes in both health care funding and the sophistication and complexity of systems caring for children, accentuated by an explosion of information technology.
