Message from the SOUS Chair

Welcome all uniformed and military-affiliated physicians, residents, and students to the AAP’s Section on Uniformed Services (AAP-SOUS)!  Our Section is proud to be the voice of military pediatrics within the AAP and would like to be the advocate for all of our military children and families, as well as the providers and associated personnel who help to care for them.  With the ongoing changes in both the civilian and military healthcare systems, it is vital that our military families and healthcare providers are represented at the national level.  Our Services may have different processes and goals, but these differences help to make our Section vibrant and unique.  We can influence military families and physicians across Services and prioritize our patients around the world.  Please consider joining our Section and letting your voice be heard!  

We are now a part of the AAP’s Career Alliance, along with the Sections on Pediatric Trainees (SOPT), Early Career Physicians (SOECP), International Medical Graduates (SIMG), and Senior Members (SOSM).  The ability for us to network with other career-focused sections will allow us to learn from and teach non-military pediatricians about what we do in the SOUS.  

Some of the activities in which we are currently engaged include the following:

• Advocating on behalf of our uniformed physicians and informing the AAP on military-specific issues
• Providing CME and MOC Part 2 credit with a quarterly webinar practice management series on military-specific topics such as clinic management and electronic health record usage  
• Mentorship and community management through input by our Service specific consultants on their pediatric training pipeline and community growth
• Recruitment for military pediatrics with a tri-service working group to increase interest in the pediatric specialty
• Providing CME and opportunities for national-level presentations within the SOUS Uniformed Services Pediatric Seminar (USPS) during the AAP NCE
• Having a newsletter platform that highlights our unique contributions to our Services and our various fields, and encourages all AAP SOUS members to contribute articles of interest to our community

Military children deserve to have outstanding care all over the world and that is the job of military pediatricians.  SOUS provides a forum in which you can advocate for what the AAP and greater pediatric community need to know about us.  Please get in touch if you are interested in joining any of our initiatives or would like to join the Section.  We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback, so please reach out!