The mission of PROS is to improve the health of children and enhance primary care practice by conducting national collaborative practice-based research.

PROS practitioners and researchers work together to generate research questions, design study materials and protocols, obtain research funding, collect study data, analyze collected data, and publish results. This collaboration is accomplished through AAP chapter-based groups of practitioners recruited and maintained by pediatrician chapter coordinators, who in turn meet twice a year with PROS research staff and consultants.

PROS (Pediatric Research in Office Settings) is a practice-based research network that was established by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 1986. As of March 2005, PROS consists of 1,953 pediatric practitioners from 719 practices in 49 states, Puerto Rico and Canada, teamed with a research staff at AAP headquarters in Elk Grove Village, IL and research consultants from around the country. The network has experienced steady growth since its inception.

For more information about PROS and to learn about opportunities for joining a PROS network, click here.

The attached letter (word doc) from PROS Chair Richard "Mort" Wasserman, MD, FAAP illustrates how important it is for young physicians to become involved with PROS.