IAAH Young Professionals Network - Cultivating Connections
Joining IAAH European Vice President Nicola Gray and IAAH Oceania Vice President Jenny Promios, IAAH Young Professionals Jason Nagata and Suzanne Crowley participated in the joint Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine/Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health meeting, “Adolescent Health Coming of Age” in Ascot, UK. The meeting featured speakers such as Professor Maria Trent, who talked about transforming risk to wellness through investments in adolescent health, and Professor Jessica Kahn discussing adolescent vaccination. The conference also featured a wide range of workshops, from male sexual health to marginalized youth.
Co-Facilitators Jason Nagata, Suzanne Crowley, and Joseph Ward
Perhaps what was most exciting for us was the involvement of Nagata and Crowley in this meeting on behalf of the IAAH Young Professionals Network. During the opening session of the conference Crowley and Nagata (along with Joseph Ward) were tapped to co-host a career development and networking event for students, trainees, and young professionals. With approximately 30 people in attendance, Nagata and Crowley facilitated an information sharing session about adolescent health networks and training opportunities. “Being able to pool the various networks and training opportunities from groups like SAHM’s Trainee Council, the RCPCH Trainees, EuTEACH, and our own Young Professionals Network really helped us and the participants to see the wide range of opportunities that are out there for young professionals like us,” said Nagata.
Another area often identified by young professionals as something they want/need is that of senior mentorship. Understanding this need, Crowley and Nagata set up a “speed dating” session where participants were able to explore ideas like, “What is mentorship?” and “What are your needs as a mentee?” and “What mentorship have you received so far?” A universal theme of this session was that mentorship, both formal and informal, is considered incredibly important and is craved by new, up and coming professionals. “Participants noted key ingredients for successful mentor/mentee relationships include trust, honesty, safe and constructive feedback, and a consistent relationship,” said Crowley. Informal mentorship opportunities were also highlighted as very important by most of the young professionals in the session. “This session wasn’t just made up of young professionals, it included consultants, doctors, practitioners, and researchers, and program coordinators. Opportunities like these informal sessions/events help to facilitate relationships between senior adolescent health professionals and young professionals that might not otherwise have developed,” Crowley said.
In addition to co-hosting their session, Nagata and Crowley also participated in the IAAH lunchtime Open Meeting let by IAAH Vice Presidents Nicola Gray and Jenny Proimos.
Crowley and Nagata both labelled the event as a success. “After debriefing about how our session went, we think the key take home message is that today’s mentees are tomorrow’s mentors and health leaders. Thus, strong mentorship today will help mold the next generation of leaders in adolescent health,” agreed both Nagata and Crowley.
EuTEACH Colleagues Yusuke Takeuchi, Anne-Emmanuelle Ambresin, Suzanne Crowley, Ngozi Onyisira
About the Author
Jason Nagata, MD, MSc, University of California at San Francisco. He is a co-chair of the IAAH Young Professionals Network.
Suzanne Crowley, NP, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. She is the secretary for the IAAH Young Professionals Network.
Jenna Baumgartner, MS, Communications and Special Projects, University of Minnesota. She is the IAAH Executive Administrator.