The 2020 AAP Virtual National Conference & Exhibition took place this year from Oct. 2-5 online with a combination of on-demand, live and pre-recorded sessions for attendees. Despite the pandemic, the AAP continues to make headway on critical pediatric initiatives, including gun safety, the epidemic of vaping use among the youth and prevalent health disparities.
Two Children’s Minnesota staff members presented at the conference on the national (virtual) stage:
Dr. Aimee Sznewajs, director of pediatric hospital medicine at Children’s Minnesota, co-presented in the section on hospital medicine on Oct. 4. The live presentation is titled Professional Development: A Multi-Site Qualitative Analysis at University-Based and Community Hospitals, and is in collaboration with Dr. Laura Chappell-Campbell of Stanford Children’s Health.
Brianna McMichael, MSN, MPH, CCRP, senior clinical research coordinator with Children’s Minnesota Research Institute presented during the section on LGBT Health and Wellness Program on Identifying Inequities: Assessing Gender Identity Disparities in a Large Pediatric Emergency Department on Oct. 5, 2020.
Virtual exhibit hall
The conference included a virtual exhibit hall that Children’s Minnesota participated in. Two Children’s Minnesota experts were available to video chat with conference attendees: Angela Goepferd, MD, chief education officer, medical director – Gender Health Program and Christine Hills, MD, pediatric cardiologist.
The booth featured several materials including information about:
- Children’s Minnesota’s fetal, cardiovascular, neonatology and trauma programs
- The COVID-19 Clinician Toolkit
- How to request or download our Directory of Services
- Careers at Children’s Minnesota
As a result of our efforts, we had significant traffic to our virtual booth including nearly 1,400 booth views and 270 conference attendees who viewed our content.
AAP president commends AAP and pediatricians for rising to this year’s challenges
AAP president, Sara “Sally” Goza, MD, FAAP spoke to conference attendees about the many events that have transpired in 2020, most notably the pandemic and, as a result, the amplification of health disparities within Hispanic, Black and Native Americans.
“We’re all in this together…we’re not,” said Dr. Goza. “…the coronavirus has found, exploited and widened every inequity. In the middle of the greatest health crisis in generations, millions of Americans find themselves impoverished and disconnected from medical care, joining the tens of millions who have always lived that way.”Dr. Goza praised the pediatric medical community for raising to the challenges presented by changing how they provide care for patients in “innovative, even heroic ways.”
Read the full summary of Dr. Goza’s plenary speech and AAP’s full conference recap.
