The ABP Wants You: Revamping Volunteer Recruitment

Thursday, February 21, 2019

When seeking volunteers, the ABP is committed to including pediatricians from as many practice settings and types as possible so that the exams they write and policies they set will reflect the reality of modern pediatrics.

Therefore, raising awareness within the pediatric community regarding volunteer opportunities available at the ABP is a priority.

Dr. Rasheed Gbadegesin

"I consider it a unique privilege to be given the opportunity to have a say in the training of pediatricians and in ensuring that we all are delivering high-quality care to our children," says Rasheed Gbadegesin, MD, MBBS, Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at Duke University and Duke Children's Hospital. "It is a lot of hard work, but the sacrifice is worth it.”

To increase visibility and simplify the volunteering process, the ABP staff has enhanced the ABP online volunteer information.

“The goal is to make the volunteer process more welcoming and informative, while also more efficient administratively,” says Kimberly Durham, Project Manager and Executive Assistant at the ABP, and a key contributor to the rebranding effort. “Our volunteer process crosses over multiple departments here at the ABP, and it’s a team effort to recruit for each position.”

ABP staff members analyzed and rebuilt the volunteer process after hearing pediatricians say they didn’t know about volunteer opportunities with the Board. The volunteer page on the ABP website was updated to provide more information about volunteer opportunities and responsibilities. The ABP hopes these actions will broaden and diversify the pool of pediatrician volunteers, while making signing up easier.

“We want pediatricians to know that we have a wide range of opportunities to get involved at the ABP,” Durham says. “A broader base of volunteers provides us with a better representation of pediatric practice across the country.”


PEDIATRICIANS EXPLAIN WHY THEY VOLUNTEER

Dr. Elena Fuentes-Afflick

“It’s an honor to serve the ABP on a committee and contribute my perspective on important issues. I encourage others to volunteer because most people have an opinion on the issue of certification and serving the organization is a way to contribute in a constructive fashion.”

Elena Fuentes-Afflick, MD, MPH
Chief of Pediatrics, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
Professor and Vice Chair, Pediatrics
Vice Dean for Academic Affairs
University of California, San Francisco


Dr. Sidney Gospe Jr.“Whether you are a general pediatrician, a subspecialist in the community, or an academician, you have an important perspective to bring to the process. It’s important to have people who have experienced the challenge of pediatric health care in this century — people who are seeing kids and struggling with the complexity of health care — to be the ones overseeing the certification and Maintenance of Certification process.”

Sidney Gospe Jr., MD, PhD
Herman and Faye Sarkowsky Endowed Chair of Child Neurology Emeritus
Professor Emeritus, Neurology and Pediatrics
University of Washington
Adjunct Professor, Pediatrics, Duke University


Dr. Lindsay Thompson“To me, being involved with the ABP and an active volunteer is like voting. It is a privilege that should not be taken for granted. I enjoy being a part of the process and having a better understanding of how and why decisions are made. With the current controversy over MOC across many specialties, I initially was curious to get involved to understand better the roots of the controversy. Now that I am more involved, I can easily advocate for the ABP in my home institution as I support its direction and leadership.”

Lindsay Thompson, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Health Outcomes and
Biomedical Informatics
Director, Pediatric Research Hub
University of Florida College of Medicine


Dr. Angela Myers“This work could not be done without the collaboration between the exam development experts and the content experts. It is the work we do together that makes a good exam. We are all striving for the same thing: improving the health and well-being of children.”

Angela Myers, MD, MPH
Director, Division of Infectious Diseases
Associate Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program
Children’s Mercy Kansas City
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine


Dr. Steven Federico“I would absolutely encourage others to get involved. It has been extremely rewarding intellectually, and I believe that I am a better pediatrician for having done so.”

Steven Federico, MD
Director of General Pediatrics and School/Community Programs
Denver Health


Dr. George Lister

“We talk about having empathy with our patients and their families. But it’s also important to have empathy with our colleagues. We can learn and understand what barriers exist by listening to each other. Mixing together people who are coming at a topic from different perspectives is fundamental.”

George Lister, MD
Jean McLean Wallace Professor of Pediatrics
Professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Yale University


This story was first published in the ABP's 2018 Annual Report.

2018 Annual Report (PDF)

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