title: A Longitudinal Study of Pediatricians Early in Their Careers: PLACES.
abstract: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) launched the Pediatrician Life and Career Experience Study (PLACES), a longitudinal study that tracks the personal and professional experiences of early career pediatricians, in 2012. We used a multipronged approach to develop the study methodology and survey domains and items, including review of existing literature and qualitative research with the target population. We chose to include 2 cohorts of US pediatricians on the basis of residency graduation dates, including 1 group who were several years out of residency (2002-2004 Residency Graduates Cohort) and a second group who recently graduated from residency at study launch (2009-2011 Residency Graduates Cohort). Recruitment into PLACES was a 2-stage process: (1) random sample recruitment from the target population and completion of an initial intake survey and (2) completion of the first Annual Survey by pediatricians who responded positively to stage 1. Overall, 41.2% of pediatricians randomly selected to participate in PLACES indicated positive interest in the study by completing intake surveys; of this group, 1804 (93.7%) completed the first Annual Survey and were considered enrolled in PLACES. Participants were more likely to be female, AAP members, and graduates of US medical schools compared with the target sample; weights were calculated to adjust for these differences. We will survey PLACES pediatricians 2 times per year. PLACES data will allow the AAP to examine career and life choices and transitions experienced by early-career pediatricians.
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois; mfrintner@aap.org.
authors.forename: Mary Pat
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Frintner
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois;
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Cull
authors.affiliation: Section of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University, Indianapolis, Indiana;
authors.forename: Bobbi J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan;
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Freed
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University Health La Porte, La Porte, Indiana;
authors.forename: Shesha K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Katakam
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Tufts Medical Center Floating Hospital for Children, Boston, Massachusetts;
authors.forename: Laurel K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Leslie
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics New London Hospital, New London, New Hampshire;
authors.forename: Ashley A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: Division of General Pediatrics, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Starmer
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois;
authors.forename: Lynn M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Olson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007588:Job Satisfaction; D008016:Life Change Events; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States