COMMITTEES

COMMITTEE ON PRACTICE

The Committee on Practice considers projects to enhance neonatalogy practices' organizational abilities, to facilitate practice management, to understand workforce needs, and to recruit new associates to fulfill the missions of their practices.

Committee Members

• John Hartline, MD, (District VI). Consultant, American Academy of Pediatrics, Department of Education, Co-Chair »
• DeWayne Pursley MD, MPH (District I), Harvard Medical School, Co-Chair »
• Claudia Alleyne, MD (District IX) Kaiser Permanente Hospitals, Los Angeles, CA »
• Steve Block, MD (District IV) Wake Forest University School of Medicine, NC »
• Robert Cicco, M. (District III) West Penn Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA »
• Gilbert Martin, MD (District IX) Liaison, Coding Trainers Committee, West Covina, CA »
• Michele Walsh, MD (District V) Case Western Reserve Medical School, Cleveland, OH »
• Robert White, MD (District V) Memorial Hospital, South Bend, IN »

Scope of Committee Work

The Committee on Practice considers projects to enhance neonatology practices' organizational abilities, to facilitate practice management, to understand workforce needs, and to recruit new associates to fulfill the missions of their practices.

As a support activity related to fellowship training, the committee prepares and publishes materials describing the spectrum practices' work-related responsibilities and organizational types. From these materials, seminars for fellows are presented to aid them in understanding and finding a position that fits their needs and interests.

The Committee seeks ideas about non-clinical, organizational challenges confronting practices and recommendations for future projects. The Committee meets annually at the Spring Workshop in Arizona and periodically communicates electronically throughout the year.

Current Initiatives

• Exploring Neonatal Practice. [In preparation]: In 2002, the Committee published Understanding a Practice Venue [J Perinatol 2002;22:supl 1 (April 2002)] , available online at http://www.nature.com/jp/journal/v22/n1s/index.html. Currently these materials are being revised and new chapters added, with expected release in late 2008 or early 2009.
• Seminars for Neonatology Fellows: One-half day to one-day long seminars exploring long-term trends in neonatology, workforce demographics, practice activities, types of practice organization, legal issues in contracts, collegiality among associates, and interviewing.
• Clinical Document Repository Project: The goal of this project is to collect protocols currently in use; review them for content, completeness, and generalizability; and to make them available through the website to help new units in protocol development and established units in reviewing their existing operating procedures.
• Practice Activities in Later-Career Neonatology: With a median age of 53, nearly one-half of practicing neonatologists are entering their later career years--exploring needed (eg, for health reasons) or desired (eg, for lifestyle reasons) modifications in practice intensity, time, work distribution, or all three. Some are contemplating early retirement or career change, within pediatrics or out of medicine entirely. The Committee plans to explore the components of successful and happy late-career professionals in neonatology in order to develop recommendations for practices as they prepare their members for their inevitable late careers.

Committee Documents

• Understanding a Practice Venue [J Perinatol 2002;22:supl 1 (April 2002)] View online »

Contact Us

John Hartline, Co-Chair »
DeWayne Pursley, Co-Chair »
Claudia Alleyne »
Steve Block »
Robert Cicco »
Gilbert Martin »
Michelle Walsh »
Robert White »

Get Involved!

• Preparing neonatal fellows for practice, whether academic, private, mixed, or hospital-employed: We need examples of strategies used for successful recruiting, either as a practice seeking colleagues or as an individual seeking a position. Please send your ideas. Contact John Hartline»
• Document registry: Submit protocols or to offer assistance in collecting, reviewing, and disseminating documents after review. Contact DeWayne Pursley»
• Late-career activities: As we begin this project, the committee would like suggestions and comments on the following: Contact John Hartline»
• Actual examples of late-career modifications that were successful from perspective of the individual neonatologist, and how they were accomplished. Tell us your story.
• Examples of practice accommodations for later-career colleagues needing or wanting to modify their time on duty, intensity of their clinical work, or distribution of practice activities (eg, less clinical, more research, teaching or administrative)
• Ideas regarding strategies practices could incorporate to prospectively plan for late career options for members of their practice.

Updated: August 17, 2008