Why Should I join SOGHN?

Join the SOGHN today. Enhance your career by helping children.

Committees – Become engaged, network, advance your career, and help children by joining a SOGHN subcommittee. Members of these groups work on specific projects as indicated below.

• Trainees and Early Career Gastroenterologists Committee (Chair: Daniel Mallon, MD, FAAP) – Help engage trainees and early career gastroenterologists in the section! Members will develop resources to meet member needs, help members navigate the board certification process, and mentor colleagues in career readiness. Committee members include Rachael Cannon, MD, FAAP, Ruben Quiros-Tejeira, MD, FAAP, Angela Sandell, MD, FAAP, Darla Shores, MD, FAAP, Elizabeth Sinclair, MD, FAAP, Aravind Thavamani, MD, FAAP, and Christine Waasdorp Hurtado, MD, FAAP.
• Clinical Education Programming Committee (Chair: Carlo Di Lorenzo, MD, FAAP) – Help develop clinical education for the annual National Conference and Exhibition and Practical Pediatrics courses. Partner with chapters on a new Grand Rounds opportunity and help develop a speaker board of section experts. Committee members include Steven Ciciora, MD, FAAP, Mitch Cohen, MD, FAAP, Marsha Kay, MD, FAAP, Jenifer Lightdale, MD, FAAP, Thomas Sferra, MD, FAAP, and Darla Shores, MD, FAAP.
• Patient and Family Education Committee (Chair: Christine Waasdorp Hurtado, MD, FAAP) – This committee focuses on development of educational tools to support pediatricians in their education of patients and families. The vision is to create different educational modalities to reach the maximum audience and provide the most support possible for PCPs and AAP SOGHN members in education of their patients and families to include updates of HealthyChildren.org resources, podcasts, short videos, and potentially open question forums. Committee members include Ifunaya Agbim, MD, FAAP, Rhea Daniel, MD, FAAP, Elliott Gordon, MD, FAAP, Daphna Katz, MD, FAAP, Meghan Horn, MD, FAAP, Laurie McCann, DO, FAAP, Hannibal Person, MD, FAAP, Anthony Porto, MD, FAAP, Patrick Reeves, MD, FAAP, Mashette Syrkin-Nikolav, MD, FAAP, Jessina Thomas, MD, FAAP, and Alejandro Velez Perez, MD, FAAP.
• Communications/Website Committee (Chair: David Brumbaugh, MD, FAAP) – Facilitate clear, multi-channel communications within the SOGHN, with other Academy entities, and with external organizations. Committee members include Christine Waasdorp Hurtado, MD, FAAP.
• “Community Consult” Chapter Speakers Program Committee (Co-Chairs: Sanjiv Harpavat, MD, PhD, FAAP and Angela Sandell, MD, FAAP) – Develop and deliver relevant GI, hepatology and nutrition content to AAP chapters via local CME courses and sponsored lectureships. Committee members include Thomas Sferra, MD, FAAP.
• Advocacy/Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) Resolutions and Proposals Committee (Chair: Jeannie Huang, MD, MPH, FAAP) – Members will draft and submit digestive health resolutions to the Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) and offer commentary to other proposed resolutions. Members will also partner with Academy advocacy experts in advancing key child digestive health priorities by:
  • advocating for pertinent policies at the Federal and State levels
  • participating in coalitions with other societies including NASPGHAN
  • raising public awareness on issues that are important to children with digestive diseases and the pediatric GI community at large

Committee members include Mary Ayers, MD, FAAP, Phyllis Agran, MD, FAAP, Susan Baker, MD, FAAP, Prerana Baranwal, MD, FAAP, Aimee Caillet, MD, FAAP, Christopher Chu, MD, FAAP, Bruno Chumpitazi, MD, MPH, FAAP, Michael Farrell, MD, FAAP, Mark Fishbein, MD, FAAP, Alyssa Goldberg, MD, FAAP, Leo Heitlinger, MD, FAAP, Jessica Hochberg, MD, FAAP, John Hollier, MD, FAAP, Racha Khalaf, MD, FAAP, Maria Oliva-Hemker, MD, FAAP, Bryan Rudolph, MD, FAAP, Angela Sandell, MD, FAAP, Sarah Jane Schwarzenberg, MD, FAAP, Marisa Stahl, MD, FAAP, and Carolyn Sullivan, MD, FAAP.

• Policy Statements and Guidelines Committee (Chair: Mitch Cohen, MD, FAAP) – Members participate in writing new policy on GI, hepatology and nutrition-related topics and reviewing policy drafted by other AAP committees/councils/sections. Committee members include Mikelle Bassett, MD, FAAP, Steven Ciciora, MD, FAAP, Carlo Di Lorenzo, MD, FAAP, Deborah Goldman, MD, FAAP, Racha Khalaf, MD, FAAP, Michael Pickens, MD, FAAP, Patrick Reeves, MD, FAAP, and Senthil SankaraRaman, MD, FAAP.
• Button Battery and Foreign Body Committee (Co-Chairs: David Brumbaugh, MD, FAAP and Elizabeth Sinclair, MD, FAAP) – Members will partner with the AAP Button Battery Task Force and other subspecialty sections (surgery, otolaryngology, radiology, and others) to align advocacy and management strategies. Current goals include:
  • Develop a multi-disciplinary guideline on ingested button battery management
  • Leverage technology to capture better epidemiologic data on foreign body ingestion to help inform advocacy and protect children from harmful consequences of foreign body ingestion

Committee members include Racha Khalaf, MD, FAAP and Michael Pickens, MD, FAAP.

• Choosing Wisely Committee (Chair: Jennifer Dotson, MD, FAAP) – Members will solicit, evaluate, select, and develop items from a pediatric GI perspective, and subsequently develop opportunities to educate members and evaluate the effectiveness of this initiative (e.g., local and national programming, MOC opportunities, and practice-based QI initiatives). Committee members include John Hollier, MD, FAAP and Darla Shores, MD, FAAP.

Advocacy – Members in the SOGHN do amazing things for children and their families. We need your help to fight for key advocacy issues such as access to care, pediatric research and advancing pediatric drugs and devices. The SOGHN advocates for children and pediatric gastroenterologists in many ways.

• Advocate for button battery and neodymium magnet safety, medical nutrition equity, and child nutrition reauthorization
• Advocate for modifications in CPT coding for pediatric colonoscopy and pediatric feeding disorders with AAP representatives to the RUC
• Participate in AAP’s Annual Legislative Conference and develop your advocacy skills on Capitol Hill
• Advocate for children and make a difference through the Federal Advocacy Action Network (FAAN)

Education – Be a lifelong learner and educator by developing continuing medical education sessions for pediatric GI subspecialists and general pediatricians.

• Help develop and participate in Practical Pediatrics Courses, and other AAP CME courses
• Access the PREP GI Online Self-Assessment Course
• Plan the annual SOGHN program and general educational sessions for the AAP National Conference and Exhibition

Policy and Guideline Development – SOGHN members participate in the development of clinical reports, policy statements, and clinical practice, guidelines in the Pediatric Gastroenterology field. Members serve as subject matter experts to the AAP by providing input on official AAP policy and by working with other sections, councils and committees to develop new statements and offer input into statements being revised.

• Provide technical review of AAP policies, external policies, and endorsement requests
• Help write AAP policy statements on GI-related topics

Scholarly Pursuits/Member Engagement – Members have access to the AAP Volunteer Network where you can find the opportunity that fits your schedule, needs, and skillsets. Some member engagement examples through the SOGHN include:

• Serve on Section Executive Committee and/or Subcommittees
• Serve as faculty at the National Conference & Exhibition
• Serve on the PREP GI Editorial Board
• Help develop EQIPP and Pedialink Courses
• Serve as a speaker at AAP Chapter Meetings
• Network and collaborate with general pediatricians and other AAP sections and councils
• Stay up to date with section listserv messages
• Access to awards such as the AAP Murray Davidson Award
• Access to Travel Grant Awards to present clinical cases at the National Conference & Exhibition (residents and fellowship trainees only)
• Author AAP News and HealthyChildren.org articles