PEDIATRICS Vol. 47 No. 6 June 1971, pp. 1080-1084
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Bergman, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by Connelly, J. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Bergman, A. B.
Right arrow Articles by Connelly, J. P.

REPORT OF THE A.A.P.-A.N.A. CONFERENCE ON UTILIZATION OF ALLIED HEALTH WORKERS IN MEETING THE MANPOWER CRISIS

Abraham B. Bergman M.D., La Verne Fakkema R.N., and John P. Connelly M.D.

On October 22, 1970 a portion of the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in San Francisco was devoted to a conference on the utilization of allied health workers in meeting the manpower crisis. It was jointly sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Nurses' Association and was the third and most successful of similar meetings. The first one, held at the Academy's Chicago meeting in October, 1969, provided an introduction to the concept of pediatric nurse practitioners. The second, held at the Washington meeting of the Academy in April, 1970, resulted in a frank exchange of views of the official nursing organizations and academy representatives and pointed to the need for open discussion and collaboration on the subject.

The San Francisco meeting got down to the business of a more objective analysis of issues, and though there was much heated discussion most of it was constructive. An attempt was made by the planning committee to include on the program different models of allied health workers in pediatrics. The program highlighted discussion about discharged medical corpsmen, laboratory technologists, pediatric assistants, as well as the more familiar pediatric nurse practitioner.

Of the 418 persons in attendance, 294 were nurses, 43 physicians, and 81 were other interested persons. When one of the nurses criticized the fact that there were so few physicians in attendance, Donald Frank of Cincinnati, a member of the Academy's Manpower Committee, pointed out that there was a fivefold improvement in physician attendance since the first conference.

The opening keynote address was given by Philip R. Lee, M.D., former HEW official, now Chancellor of the University of California at San Francisco, who refreshingly offered no simple solutions.