Q. What is the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty Special Interest Group (SIG)?
A. The AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG is a group of AACN members and affiliates (including student members) who are building a “home” within the AACN that promotes clinical work with children. Although open to all interested AACN members and affiliates, the SIG is focused on the interests of pediatric, child-clinical, and lifespan developmental neuropsychologists. That’s a mouthful, so we use the shorthand term “pediatric” instead of creating yet another bulky acronym.
Q. Does the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG confer special certification or credential?
A. The AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG is a membership group, not a credentialing body. As long as members are contributing to mission of the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG (building a home within the AACN that promotes neuropsychological work with children) and abide by the rules of the affiliated list-serve, we’re proud to have them.
Q. Is the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG open to everyone?
A. It is open to any AACN member or affiliate in good standing.
Q. Is it open to students?
A. Absolutely. AACN Student members are just as welcome as Active, Affiliate, or Senior AACN members. Students bring enthusiasm and creative thinking. That’s why we are actively pursuing ways to make it easier for students to join the AACN more broadly, so that they can become part of the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG.
Q. Does it cost anything to join?
A. If you’re current on your AACN member or affiliate dues, you’re good to go. Like other AACN subcommittees, we are a member-driven group. The AACN is footing the bill for our online community.
Q. What’s this about an “Online Community?”
A. That’s one of the cool things about the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG. With the help of our members, we are building web pages with specifically relevant resources, and have developed a listserve to promote efficient communication within the group. Our goal is to make this a truly integrated online community, and we will continue to look at other ways of leveraging technology to further the SIG mission.
Q. Another listserve? Don’t we already have enough?
A. Ours is different from other listserves. While the AACN and AACN Community Discussion listserves have broad audiences, the AACN-Ped list is focused on pediatric issues. It is not intended to replace those lists, but rather to supplement them. Similarly, the AACN-Ped list is not being launched as competition to the ped-NPSY list. Instead, it is meant to be a better communication conduit for members of the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG than the “reply to all” e-mail lists that have proven to be bulky and unreliable. Some members might choose to use the AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG as their primary way of getting and providing relevant information, but that’s really up to them. By insisting on relevance and civility on our listserve, we do hope to create a home for individuals who found other lists to have too much irrelevant “noise” or uncivil behavior, and consequently left those lists or relegated posts to rarely-visited junk folders. AACN-Ped list members agree to terms of use that outline the type of content that will NOT be tolerated. Specifically, messages or posts that denigrate or are considered derogatory to any person or organization will not be permitted. Messages that are considered offensive or unprofessional will be deleted from the list, and the person that posted the message will be reminded about the expected conduct on the list. A second infraction will result in temporary suspension from the group. A third infraction will result in permanent removal from the list. This rule will be applied evenly and to all members of the group, and will not favor any individual or organization over another.
Q. Do I need a Google account to become a member?
A. You can join with or without a Google account, though you’ll find it much easier to manage your list settings if you have one, which is free and easy to create. If you do not have a Google account and want to make one that is linked to your current e-mail, go to https://accounts.google.com/SignUpWithoutGmail and follow the instructions, entering in whichever e-mail address you want linked to the listserve (if you use Gmail, you may learn that an account already exists, even if you didn’t know it). To become a member, visit this page. Please note that the latter page is only accessible to current (dues-paid) members. You’ll receive a confirmation e-mail once you have been added.
Q. Do I need to become an AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG member to view messages?
A. Similar to the AACN and AACN Community Discussion lists, only AACN Pediatric Subspecialty SIG members are able to readily view messages. We have noticed that small portions of specific messages might be displayed in response to a Google Groups search, but these are typically fragmented and incoherent excerpts.
Q. How do I change my settings to get real-time updates, a bundled email that tells me about activity in the group (i.e., digest), view messages online only without any email, temporarily suspend messages (e.g., for vacation), or unsubscribe?
A. Although you do not need a Google account to become a member or post and view messages, managing your membership does require a Google account. If you have a Google account, log into it, and then click on the link at the bottom of the page for “Groups – Manage subscriptions.” Next, click on “My Groups” and then “AACN Ped Sig” Finally, click on “My Membership” and select your desired settings. If you want to unsubscribe and are not a Google member or do not have a Google account, send an email to: