You may not know this, but our journal tracks all articles to make sure that we regularly publish articles relevant to the various sections, committees, and councils of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). We want all stakeholders to be able to find something of interest to read and learn about in Pediatrics. The one section that we find ourselves sometimes wondering if we are meeting their needs is the AAP Section on Senior Members. Fortunately, we can now be reassured based on the content in their outstanding quarterly newsletter “Senior Bulletin,” which you can find by clicking on “Sample Bulletin” here.
There is so much to read and learn about in the latest issue of the Senior Bulletin, with articles written by some of the most knowledgeable senior pediatricians in the AAP, who share their thoughts and opinions on the many topics that appear in our journal. In just the latest issue, you will find articles focused on social determinants of health, opioids, suicide, and depression—similar to articles you will find in Pediatrics. The issues regarding separation of children and families at the southern border are extensively dealt with at a personal and national/international level in the Senior Bulletin, just as we have tried to do in articles and blogs over the past few months.
We hope you will link to this newsletter to find an article written by former AAP President Donald Schiff on various policy issues being acted upon in Washington by the current administration, and how these policy changes are damaging the health and well-being of children. Dr. Suzanne Boulter’s essay on her advocacy efforts to sleep outside in mid-March if this year to help raise funds to help homeless youth in New Hampshire is inspiring and may make you want to hold a similar event in your own community. Other senior members offer their personal journeys of advocacy on a myriad of important causes and legislative bills. There are several articles that will energize not just senior members but all members such as one by Dr. Mark R. Friedman on the importance of pediatricians doing more to monitor the role of fathers and their overall mental health and well-being given how paternal depression can be just as troublesome for a child as maternal depression. Reading through the Senior Bulletin helps us recognize and in turn remember how innovative and creative our senior colleagues are and continue to be with so many reflections on life after retirement shared in the Bulletin. It is clear from reading the newsletter that even retired pediatricians never retire from thinking about the well-being of children and families in this country and around the world. Kudos to Dr. Lucy Crain and Associate Editors Drs. Manny Doyne and Cathy DeAngelis for publishing a newsletter that really should be must-reading for all members of the Academy. Link to it and see what we mean.
