Joe Zenel, MD, FAAP

The one thing I was really fascinated by in my college freshman psychology class was Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity or the idea that events unrelated by cause are related by meaning. From that day I have always tried to come up with ways to connect unrelated events. Other people do this too. We love conspiracy theories where we try to make connections that do not exist (MMR causes autism!). There is the "Six degrees of Kevin Bacon" trivia game that asserts that Mr. Bacon's role in one film can be linked to any other film actor's role by a series of films within six somewhat-related steps. And as physicians well-trained in clinical reasoning, we try to connect the various history, physical and laboratory findings into a pattern we recognize as the diagnosis.

So, for today's commentary I thought I would list what has happened to me in the past 48 hours and see if I can relate it to the sessions described in this issue. Here are the events:

1. I have received an e-mail from the immediate past-president of the AAP Missouri chapter who is conducting a survey of pediatrician response to vaccine hesitancy and avoidance.
2. I went on a road trip with the University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine leadership to meet the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences leadership to discuss collaboration. During the meeting, one dean mentioned that one particular issue could be "a Huck Finn" moment.
3. During the trip to North Dakota I saw herds of cattle and horses.

Dr Paul Offit's presentation, "America's Anti-Vaccine Movement: A Perspective," focuses on taking advantage of those special times when you can perhaps influence hesitant parents to accept vaccinating their child. Dr Offit stresses we need to look for those moments since we are losing the "herd" immunity we so rely on to protect our children. Is it coincidence I got that e-mail and saw animal herds in the fields of Dakota?

The session "Returning to Critical Basics of Childhood" explores the positive and negative effects kids' media use has on their physical, mental and social lives. Dr Michael Rich will try to convince you that children need to spend more time outdoors and that we need to "bring back boredom." Take a look at the article describing the session. Please note that the first sentence refers to Huck Finn. I also just saw a lot of the Dakota great outdoors.

We all recognize IPV to mean "Inactivated Polio Vaccine." The plenary presentation "Opening Pandora's Box: Why Pediatricians Should Consider Screening for Intimate Partner Violence" introduces the new IPV, "Intimate Partner Violence." Violence breeds violence. We need to look for it in children's households and intervene. Dr Jonathan Thackeray will discuss the how and why. Where are the connections here? The e-mail and herds led to Dr Offit's session on immunizations that led to IPV that led to this plenary. Or how about, media often contains violent content?

I conclude with one more attempt at synchronicity. Go on a road trip, sign up for the 2010 NCE and make your own connections with colleagues and opportunities for improving the health of children.