President’s Letter from Deb Palazzi – Aiming High—Together: Leadership, Learners, and the Future of Pediatric ID

Many of you know that I beam with pride when I talk about my son’s journey at the US Air Force Academy. Watching him train in an environment defined by service, discipline, and shared purpose has given me a powerful lens into leadership under pressure—and on what it truly means to aim high, together.

Recently, the Air Force Academy announced the appointment of a new Dean following a period of falling morale and rising stress. In describing the challenges facing the institution, Academy leaders cited faculty cuts, uncertainty, significant change, and chronic work overload.

When I read that list, I felt an immediate pang of recognition. These are many of the same forces defining the day-to-day reality of those of us in pediatric ID. We live this in divisions where fewer faculty are tasked to cover the same—or greater—clinical volume; in persistent uncertainty around funding, staffing, and institutional priorities; in near-constant change driven by new pathogens, evolving guidelines, and shifting care models; and in chronic work overload that stretches from inpatient consults to outpatient follow-up, stewardship efforts, infection prevention, research, and teaching. Like the Academy, our field is being asked to do more with less, to adapt continuously, and to sustain excellence under sustained pressure.

While our missions differ, the parallels are striking. The Air Force prepares leaders to safeguard national security; pediatric ID prepares leaders to safeguard the health of children. Both fields demand excellence. Both ask their people to shoulder responsibility that is often unseen and unrewarded. And in both, aiming high does not insulate a field from strain—it makes collective support even more essential.

In pediatric ID, engaging our learners and junior colleagues is not optional. It is foundational to our future. Medical students, residents, fellows, and early-career faculty will decide whether to join and remain in this field based not only on our scientific rigor, but on whether they see a community that values them, advocates for them, and stands together when challenges mount.

This is where PIDS has an essential role to play. This month, the PIDS Compensation and Workforce Survey will be released to divisional and operational leaders. This survey is critically important. Data allow us to move from shared experience to collective advocacy, strengthening our ability to speak clearly and credibly about workload, compensation, and sustainability in our field. At the same time, the PIDS Compensation Committee is working diligently behind the scenes listening, analyzing, and developing pathways to meaningful change. This work reflects a shared commitment to aiming high not as individuals, but as a community.

For those attending the upcoming St. Jude-PIDS meeting in Memphis from March 4-6, I encourage you to see the meeting as more than a scientific gathering. It is also
an opportunity to inspire. Reach out to trainees and junior faculty, Invite them into conversation. Share your story.  Be honest about both the challenges and the tremendous meaning of our work and how it can be transformative. In pediatric ID, as in the Air Force, leaders know that belief in the mission is sustained one person at a time.

Aiming high has never meant doing this work alone. It means holding one another steady through uncertainty, investing in those who will follow us, and advocating for a field that matters deeply to children, families, and communities.

Let’s aim high, together
Deb