This month the ACOPedscast has its second “live on location” episode with Jason and Scott coming to you from the 2024 OMED Conference in San Antonio, Texas, and like the last on-location episode from DO Day on the Hill in Washington DC, the topic is how to serve as physician advocates. Jason and Scott also take advantage of being at the AOA’s largest annual gathering to pull a very special guest to the Pedscast, Sean Neal. Sean is part of the AOA Washington DC office and serves as the Vice President of Advocacy and Political Affairs for the organization.

In this episode we get a first-hand look at how the AOA advocates for our patients and our profession and how you can get involved in legislative advocacy at all levels. We also discuss the resources available to you as members of the AOA ranging from help for the novice advocate in getting in contact with your local representatives to getting prepared to run for public office yourself!

Sean explains the difference between the AOA, the American Osteopathic Information Association (AOIA), and the Osteopathic Political Action Committee (OPAC), breaking down what each arm does in relation to healthcare advocacy and how you can get involved in each. He gives us a boots-on-the-ground evaluation of the current environment on Capitol Hill.

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. Look for more episodes like this in the future as Scott and Jason sit down with other members of the AOA Policy Team to learn more about the various ways the AOA supports our profession.

See you in October!

If you are interested in learning more, links are provided below:

• AOA: osteopathic.org
• Osteopathic Advocacy Network: Osteopathic Advocacy Network - American Osteopathic Association
• AOIA/OPAC: AOIA-OPAC (osteopathicpac.org)

For the August Pedscast, Jason and Scott welcome back a frequent guest to the studio, David King, DO, FACOP. Dr. King sits on the ACOP Board of Trustees and has served as the chairperson of the CME Committee since 2021. In that role he has helped lead the ACOP in putting together our excellent Spring and Fall conferences for the past 3 years and counting. During this visit we decided to not only give you a preview of what to expect if you are joining us in-person in San Antonio or virtually for the ACOP track at OMED 2024, but also an in depth behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to go from the blank page to a full 4-day schedule of expert lectures covering hot topics in pediatrics.

If you have ever wondered what this process looks like or are looking for possible avenues to get involved in the ACOP, this episode is full of helpful hints and insights.

Interested in being a guest on the ACOPedscast or have a request or suggestion on how we can improve? Reach out to Jason and Scott at pedscast@acopeds.org.

Are you enjoying the ACOPedscast? Be sure to like and subscribe and set up for automatic downloads on whatever podcast streaming platform you choose. New episodes come out on the fourth Wednesday of each month!

Happy listening and we will be back in September!

In this month’s episode Jason and Scott welcome Kim Wolf, DO, FACOP, FAAP to the “studio” to discuss two phenomenal organizations of which she is a pivotal part. In the ongoing dedication to expanding the reach of osteopathic manipulative medicine in pediatrics, Dr. Wolf set out to create a space to both celebrate and educate the public on the efficacy of OMT in the pediatric population. Out of this endeavor came the American Academy of Pediatric Osteopathy or AAPO. Based in San Diego, this organization focuses primarily on the advancement of both clinical skills and academic research in the field of Pediatric Osteopathy. For those of you who attended the ACOP Spring 2024 Conference in Denver, CO, you may remember a sample of this work in the ACOP/AAPO joint sessions on Sports Injuries, Concussion, and OMT for the busy pediatrician which kicked off our conference.

In addition to this Dr. Wolf also co-founded an organization dedicated to building the academic catalog of osteopathic manipulative medicine, the Conference on Osteopathic Research and Knowledge, or CORK. Dr. Wolf provides details of their first conference held in June at NYIT-COM which had approximately 100 attendees sharing the work they are doing to increase the visibility of osteopathic-focused academic research. Leaving no time, she also announces the dates for their second conference to be held in Spring also at NYIT-COM!

If you are looking for inspiration or wondering if there is a place for academic exploration in osteopathic manipulative medicine, this is a perfect episode for you! (The ACOP may also make some surprise announcements in this episode as well about how to share that amazing work!!)

More information on the AAPO can be found at AAPO | The American Academy of Pediatric Osteopathy (the-promise.org) and if you are looking for information about CORK follow NYIT Osteopathic Medicine Center. You can also follow them on X/Twitter at @AcademyAapo.