Robert W. Block, MD, FAAP, is immediate
past president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Dr. Block is also a
Professor of Pediatrics and immediate past Daniel C. Plunket Chair, Department
of Pediatrics, The University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine in Tulsa.
Dr. Block received his M.D.
degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his pediatric residency
at the Children’s Hospital
of Philadelphia. He has
been a member of the O.U. College of Medicine faculty since 1975. As a faculty
member, Dr. Block has been nominated for the Aesculapian teaching award six
times, winning on three occasions. Dr. Block has been awarded the prestigious
Stanton L. Young Master Teacher Award, a University of Oklahoma Presidential
Professorship, the Accreditation Council for
Graduate Medical Education Parker J. Palmer “Courage to Teach” Award, the Ray
Helfer Society Award in recognition of his work in the field of Child Abuse,
and the Award for Outstanding Service to Maltreated Children by the American
Academy of Pediatrics. In 2001 and subsequently, he has been named one of the
“Best Doctors in America.” He was appointed the first Chair of the newly
formed subboard on Child Abuse Pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics from
2006-2009, and continues serving on the subboard. He holds Certificate #1 from the ABP in Child
Abuse Pediatrics.
Dr. Block is a diplomate of the American
Board of Pediatrics, a Fellow of the American
Academy of Pediatrics, a
past president of the Oklahoma AAP Chapter, and former member and chair of the
Academy’s Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. He is a former member and chair
of the United States’
Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines.
Dr. Block is the immediate past President and current Board Chair of the
Academy on Violence and Abuse (AVA), the relatively new national organization
focused on increasing health care professionals’ education, and academic
research, on the health effects of violence and abuse.
Dr. Block was appointed Oklahoma’s first Chief
Child Abuse Examiner in 1989, and he served in that capacity until October,
2011. He was a past Chair and member of the Oklahoma Child Death Review Board
from 1992 through September, 2011. He has been a member of the medical team for
the Tulsa Children’s Justice
Center, and served as a
past President and member of the board of directors for the Child Abuse
Network, Inc. He is now an Emeritus
Director. Dr. Block has authored several
papers and a textbook, and has delivered over 2,000 public presentations. Dr.
Block has been married to Sharon Block, a retired science teacher and
registered nurse, for 42 years. They have two daughters, Erika and Andrea, and
two grandchildren.
###
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org.
