Professional Organizations: Everything You Need to Know
If you’ve Googled a parenting topic, especially something related to health or medical decisions, sometimes the results can come back looking like alphabet soup.
ACOG? AAP? CDC? What are all these acronyms, anyway?
In today’s blog post, I’m going to talk about professional organizations – what they are, their purpose, different types, and how you can use the information they provide in your own research and decision making.
If you have a health or science background, you are probably already familiar with some of this information. But if not, hopefully this overview will help you as you research parenting topics, especially those related to health or medical decisions.
About Professional Organizations
Purpose
Professional organizations exist across a variety of industries and areas. Typically, these groups are made up of individuals who are part of the industry or career field. Often nationally recognized, the organization provides networking, resources, support, and professional development opportunities.
One key aspect of what they do that is relevant for parents is to publish research based recommendations and guidelines. For example, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has published a statement on car seat safety guidelines. These statements summarize current research and recommend decisions based on that research.
A common place to encounter these types of guidelines might be at a pregnancy appointment if you visit an OB-GYN or midwife, or a well-child check up if you visit a pediatrician. Many of the decisions they recommend are based on the guidelines from a professional organization, such as ACOG or the AAP (see below for more information about these).
Structure
There are several types of professional organizations. Each serves a different role and puts out different kinds of resources.
- Member-benefit professional associations
- These organizations are open to members of an industry to join, typically through an annual membership fee. They may have requirements of a certain certification or degree to join. Some may have options for student membership for those studying to join the industry or career field.
- The benefits offered to members can vary, including access to volunteer, networking or job opportunities, keeping up to date with the latest news in the industry, working collaboratively on projects or publications with other members, and standing out on a resume.
- Certifying bodies
- The goal of these associations is to issue and track professional certifications. For example, as a genetic counselor I have received my certification from the American Board of Genetic Counseling, which certifies genetic counselors in the U.S.
- Professional regulatory bodies
- These organizations may also manage certification or designation requirements, but are focused on establishing, updating, and upholding best practices and guidelines for the work of a particular professional industry.
Why they are considered “experts” in terms of recommendations:
These groups are often considered to be the experts in their industry or field because they are composed of the individuals who are experts. Together, these research and clinical experts are experienced in collecting, analyzing, and implementing data.
Membership Professional Organizations
There are several well known membership organizations you are likely to run across as you research recommendations for health or medical decisions.
- The American College of OB-GYNs (ACOG): as a premier professional membership organization for obstetricians and gynecologists, ACOG “produces practice guidelines for health care professionals and educational materials for patients, provides practice management and career support, facilitates programs and initiatives to improve women’s health, and advocates for members and patients”.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): this organization supports the professional needs of pediatricians in their goal “to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.”
- The American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM): the mission of this professional association is “[t]o support midwives, advance the practice of midwifery, and achieve optimal, equitable health outcomes for the people and communities midwives serve through inclusion, advocacy, education, leadership development and research.”
These are just a few commonly encountered organizations, but there are many others out there relevant to parenting topics.
Most likely, the resources relevant to parenting decisions that you would see from these organizations are going to be about medical or health related recommendations. For example, the AAP publications focus on pediatric decisions such as first doctor visits, nutrition, and starting solids.
Government Based Professional Organizations
In addition, some recommendations (such as immunization schedules) come from a government based organization. These fall under federal or state government ownership and control. The two most common you may encounter are the FDA and the CDC.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): the FDA is responsible for providing public health and safety information about drugs, biological products, and other medical related products.
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): the CDC seeks to protect public health and security by fighting disease through implementing science and health information.
How can you use this information?
Perhaps professional organizations are a trusted expert resource for you, or perhaps not.
It’s important to remember that while research and data-based, the recommendations made by any professional organization are just that – recommendations. Your instinct and intuition as your child’s parent are an important factor in any decision that you make. There may be some topics where you feel confident following the guideline of a professional organization, and others where you choose to take a different path.
Understanding the purpose of professional organizations can be helpful, however, in deciding how to use their guidelines in your own decisions. In general, the guidelines are aimed at outlining recommendations for the “majority”. This means that while they may benefit the most families overall, they will not always be the right decision for a particular family or child. They are, however, typically based on research evidence from a large sample size.
Additionally, these policy statements can be a great springboard to further resources. If you are looking for research articles, the reference section of a statement from a professional organization can point you in the right direction.
We hope this information helps you better understand where those recommendations you hear at the pediatrician often come from. Regardless of how you decide to use professional guidelines in your own decision making process, you are doing the best for your child!
