Master Networking in Your Pediatrics-Psychiatry Residency: A Complete Guide

Why Networking Matters So Much in Pediatrics-Psychiatry

Networking in medicine is never “optional,” but in a niche path like Pediatrics-Psychiatry, it’s absolutely foundational. The combined pediatrics-psychiatry (often called peds psych residency) and triple board (pediatrics–general psychiatry–child & adolescent psychiatry) pathways are small, highly collaborative, and tightly interconnected. That means:

• Most people know one another—or know someone who knows you.
• Opportunities often circulate informally before they’re publicly advertised.
• Your reputation and relationships are as important as your CV.

For residents and applicants, networking in medicine is not about schmoozing; it’s about building genuine, professional relationships that help you:

• Explore and refine your career goals (e.g., inpatient vs consultation-liaison vs integrated primary care, etc.)
• Find research, QI, advocacy, and teaching opportunities
• Identify mentors and sponsors who will open doors
• Learn about fellowships, niche careers, and leadership roles
• Build a support system for a demanding—notoriously complex—career trajectory

Within pediatrics-psychiatry, networking is also a way to bridge two professional cultures. You’re part of:

• The pediatrics world (AAP, pediatric hospitalists, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, etc.)
• The psychiatry world (APA, AACAP, consultation-liaison psychiatry, addiction, etc.)

Your task is not just to meet people—it’s to connect those worlds and position yourself as someone who can navigate both.

This guide will walk through how to network effectively across medical school, residency, and early career, with a focus on peds psych residency and triple board trainees. It will also provide detailed strategies for conference networking, mentorship in medicine, and using medical networking to shape a sustainable, mission-driven career.

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Laying the Foundation: Networking as a Student or New Resident

Early networking is less about “getting something” and more about getting known—for your curiosity, work ethic, and interests in pediatrics-psychiatry.

Clarify Your Story (Even If It’s Still Evolving)

Before you reach out to people, have a concise narrative:

• What draws you to pediatrics and psychiatry?
• What patient populations or problems interest you? (e.g., neurodevelopmental disorders, eating disorders, integrated behavioral health, trauma, foster care, chronic medical illness with psychiatric comorbidity)
• What types of work excite you? (direct clinical care, systems work, advocacy, education, research, policy)

A simple 1–2 sentence “intro” helps others understand how they might help you:

“I’m a second-year resident in a peds psych residency, especially interested in integrated primary care models for kids with complex chronic illness and co-occurring depression and anxiety.”

You don’t need a perfect plan—but you do need a coherent, honest starting point.

Start Local: Your Home Institution

Your closest and most accessible network is your own training environment.

People to know on the pediatrics side:

• Program director and associate program directors
• Chief residents and senior residents in peds
• Pediatric hospitalists and intensivists who care for medically complex children
• Developmental-behavioral pediatricians
• Child abuse pediatrics, adolescent medicine, and palliative care faculty

People to know on the psychiatry side:

• Psychiatry and child psychiatry program leadership
• Consultation-liaison psychiatrists (especially those doing pediatric consults)
• Child & adolescent psychiatrists in eating disorders, neurodevelopmental clinics, or school-based programs
• Psychologists and social workers embedded in pediatric clinics

Practical steps:

• Attend both pediatrics and psychiatry departmental grand rounds regularly.
• Introduce yourself after talks: name, training level, and what you found interesting.
• Ask 1–2 people per month for a 20–30 minute “career conversation” (informational interview).
• Join or attend meetings of hospital committees touching both fields: behavioral health integration, quality and safety, child protection teams, etc.

This local “mesh network” becomes your primary source of collaboration, letters of recommendation, and informal sponsorship.

Build Early Project-Based Connections

Networking becomes more natural when you are doing things together.

Examples for peds-psych or triple board residents:

• Join a QI project improving screening for depression or suicidality in pediatric primary care.
• Partner with child life or social work to create a behavioral health resource guide for inpatient pediatric families.
• Work with a consultation-liaison psychiatrist on a project about delirium in PICU patients.
• Co-author a case report involving complex somatic and psychiatric presentations in a child.

Each project connects you to co-authors, supervisors, and collaborators—people who see how you work and are more likely to support your future endeavors.

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Mentorship in Medicine: Building Your Support Team

In a hybrid path like pediatrics-psychiatry, you will rarely find one mentor who covers it all. You’ll need a small network of mentors and sponsors across both disciplines.

Different Roles: Mentor, Sponsor, Coach, Peer

Understanding the types of relationships helps you approach them intentionally.

• Mentor
  Offers ongoing guidance, feedback, and perspective. Example: a child psychiatrist who meets with you quarterly to help shape your clinical and research interests.

• Sponsor
  Uses their influence or position to actively open doors for you. Example: a division chief who nominates you for a national committee or invites you to contribute a book chapter.

• Coach
  Helps with strategy and skills (time management, productivity, communication) more than career content. Could be a faculty member, senior resident, or outside coach.

• Peer mentor
  A fellow resident or junior faculty member a few years ahead of you. Often the most honest and practical advice comes from peer mentors.

Aim for a mentorship “board of directors”: 3–5 people, some from pediatrics, some from psychiatry, including at least one who deeply understands peds psych or triple board training.

How to Approach Potential Mentors

Most faculty are receptive if the request is focused and respectful. A concise email can look like:

Subject: Triple Board Resident Interested in Integrated Behavioral Health – Brief Meeting?

Dear Dr. [Name],

I’m a PGY-2 in the triple board program, with emerging interests in integrated behavioral health in pediatric primary care and early childhood trauma. I greatly appreciated your recent grand rounds on [topic].

I’m hoping to learn more about your career path and how you approached early training decisions. Would you be open to a 20–30 minute meeting sometime in the next month?

Thank you for considering this,
[Name], MD
Triple Board Resident, [Institution]

During the meeting:

• Ask about their path, turning points, and what surprised them.
• Share your current interests and uncertainties.
• Ask: “Given what I’ve shared, is there anyone else you’d recommend I talk with?”
• Follow up with a brief thank-you email and any action items.

If the conversation goes well and feels aligned, you can later say:

“I’ve really valued our conversations and guidance—would you be open to an ongoing mentoring relationship if I continue to check in a few times per year?”

Maintaining Mentorship Relationships

Relationships fade without maintenance. A simple structure:

• Frequency: 2–4 times per year per mentor, depending on intensity of the work together.
• Preparation: Send an agenda 1–2 days before—your key questions, updates, and decisions you’re facing.
• Follow-through: After each meeting, note concrete next steps and timelines. Then actually execute.

A brief yearly update email is powerful, especially to busy senior mentors:

“Over the past year I completed X, Y, and Z, presented at [conference], and started [new project]. Your advice about [specific topic] was especially helpful.”

It keeps you on their radar and strengthens the relationship over time.

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Mastering Conference Networking in Peds Psych and Triple Board

Conferences are high-yield events in medical networking. For combined pediatrics-psychiatry, key meetings often include:

• AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) – especially Sections on Child Abuse, Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, Hospital Medicine, etc.
• APA (American Psychiatric Association) – general psychiatry, including pediatric-adjacent topics.
• AACAP (American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry) – core for child and adolescent psychiatry.
• Regional pediatric and psychiatric society meetings.
• Specialty conferences on integrated care, consultation-liaison psychiatry, autism, eating disorders, or trauma.

Before the Conference: Strategic Planning

1. Clarify your priorities.
   Are you:

   • Exploring career paths?
   • Looking for research or fellowship opportunities?
   • Trying to meet specific leaders in peds psych or triple board?

2. Review the program and highlight sessions that intersect pediatrics and psychiatry:

   • Pediatric psychopharmacology
   • Integrated behavioral health models
   • Pediatric consultation-liaison
   • Early childhood mental health
   • Chronic illness and mental health comorbidities

3. Make a short “target list” of people to meet:

   • Speakers giving peds-psych-related talks.
   • Authors of papers you admire.
   • Program directors or faculty from programs you might apply to (for residency, fellowship, or early faculty jobs).

4. Reach out in advance when possible:

“I’ll be attending AACAP this year and saw you’re speaking on pediatric somatic symptom disorders. I’m a peds psych resident at [Institution] with strong interest in this area. If you have any brief windows, I’d be grateful for the chance to introduce myself and ask a few questions about your work and career path.”

Not everyone will reply, but even a few 10–15 minute meetings can be transformative.

During the Conference: Being Present and Approachable

1. Use your badge and body language.

• Wear your badge visibly (program and city often spark conversation).
• Put your phone away in public spaces—phones are social “Do Not Disturb” signs.
• Sit near others rather than alone at the edges of rooms.

2. Talk to speakers and panelists.

After a talk you find valuable, approach the speaker:

• Introduce yourself: name, training level, program.
• Offer one specific reflection: “I appreciated your point about integrating mental health screening into asthma clinics; that’s something we’ve struggled with.”
• Ask one focused question or for a resource.
• End with: “Would you mind if I emailed you to continue this conversation?”

Then actually send the email within a week.

3. Use structured events.

• Attend resident socials, special interest group meetings, and mentoring breakfasts.
• Join pediatric-psychiatry, integrated care, or child mental health discussion groups.
• If there’s a triple board or peds-psych meet-up (formal or informal), prioritize it—these are incredibly high-yield because of the small community.

4. Present if you can.

Posters and oral presentations signal seriousness and give people a reason to come talk to you.

At your poster:

• Stand near it during the full assigned time.
• Prepare a 1–2 minute explanation for non-experts.
• Have a sign-up sheet or QR code for people who want to share contacts or receive follow-up.

After the Conference: Converting Encounters into Relationships

Networking value is mostly in the follow-up.

Within 7–10 days:

• Email people you met.
• Reference something specific you discussed.
• Suggest a next step (e.g., a short Zoom call, sharing a paper you discussed, sending a draft if you offered to collaborate).

Example follow-up:

“It was great to meet you at the AAP meeting after your session on adolescent depression in CF patients. I appreciated your insights about integrating psychiatry into subspecialty clinics. I’d love to stay in touch and, if you’re open to it, possibly learn more about how your clinic is structured as we think about similar models at my institution.”

Simple, concrete, and easy for them to respond to.

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Networking Across Institutions and Online: Expanding Your Reach

Because peds psych and triple board programs are few, much of your broader community will be outside your home institution.

Tapping into Formal Networks and Organizations

Look for:

• Triple board and peds psych listservs (often coordinated through program director groups or national organizations).
• Working groups or special interest groups in AAP, APA, AACAP that align with:
  • Collaborative care / integrated behavioral health
  • Child trauma and resilience
  • Chronic medical illness and mental health
  • Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Hospital consortia or multi-site QI collaboratives involving pediatric behavioral health.

Ask your program leadership:

“Are there national peds psych or triple board groups I should join, or listservs where residents share opportunities and discuss cases?”

Joining these networks helps you:

• Find mentors at other institutions.
• Learn about multi-site research or QI projects.
• Discover fellowship and early career roles you may never see advertised locally.

Using Email and Virtual Platforms Strategically

Email networking guidelines:

• Subject line: clear and specific (e.g., “Peds Psych Resident – Interested in Your Work on Integrated Care”).
• First paragraph: who you are, how you found them, what you’re asking.
• Keep it concise (3–8 sentences).
• Make the ask small and specific (15–20 min call, 1–2 questions, not “fix my entire career”).

Virtual tools:

• Institutional Zoom accounts: schedule brief virtual meetings with mentors or collaborators at other sites.
• Shared documents (Google Docs, OneDrive) for collaborative writing.
• Project management tools (Asana, Trello) if you’re leading or co-leading a collaborative project.

Social Media and Professional Presence

Social media can be useful for medical networking, but it should be used intentionally and professionally.

Platforms commonly used in academic medicine:

• X (formerly Twitter):

  • Follow leaders in peds, psych, and child psych.
  • Share conference insights, publications, and advocacy work.
  • Engage respectfully in discussions about child mental health policy or practice.

• LinkedIn:

  • Maintain an up-to-date professional profile.
  • Connect with faculty, collaborators, and peers after meaningful interactions.
  • Share major milestones (e.g., presentations, awards, publications).

• Institutional profiles and bios:

  • Keep your institutional bio current with peds psych/triple board identity clearly stated.
  • Mention research and clinical interests; this makes it easier for others to find you.

Be clear on boundaries:

• Maintain patient confidentiality at all times.
• Avoid posting content that you would not want a future employer or fellowship director to see.
• When in doubt, discuss with mentors accustomed to public-facing work.

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Long-Term Strategy: Using Networking to Shape a Sustainable Career

Networking is not just for getting into a peds psych residency or triple board program; it’s a continuous process that shapes your trajectory throughout residency and beyond.

Using Networking to Explore Career Options

Many pediatrics-psychiatry and triple board graduates pursue:

• Integrated primary care or behavioral health leadership roles
• Pediatric consultation-liaison psychiatry
• Inpatient child psychiatry with strong medical-psychiatric overlap
• Work with specific populations (e.g., autism, eating disorders, foster care, chronic medical illness)
• Academic careers with a blend of teaching, QI, research, and clinical work
• Policy or advocacy positions focusing on child mental health systems

For each potential pathway, identify:

• 1–3 people doing that work.
• One or two informational interviews with them.
• A short-term exposure (elective, shadowing, small project).

Networking is the bridge between imagining a path and trying it.

Sponsorship and Leadership Development

As you advance:

• Take on small leadership roles: resident committees, curriculum projects, QI leadership, helping run a clinic initiative.
• Share outcomes (posters, brief reports, internal presentations).
• Let mentors and sponsors know your interest in leadership and ask what skills you should cultivate (e.g., conflict management, project management, grant writing, systems thinking).

Sponsors often emerge when they see:

• Consistent follow-through.
• Ability to work across disciplines.
• Clear alignment between your interests and institutional or program goals.

Protecting Your Time and Energy

Networking can become overwhelming if you say “yes” to everything.

Strategies to maintain balance:

• Apply a simple filter:

  • “Does this opportunity align with my core interests (peds psych, integrated care, child mental health)?”
  • “Will this help me grow skills I value (teaching, QI, research, leadership)?”
  • “Can I realistically commit to this without compromising patient care, well-being, or core training?”

• Maintain a “maybe later” list of ideas and people to revisit in 6–12 months.

• Discuss with mentors:

  • “I’ve been asked to join [project/committee]. Given my current workload and goals, do you think this is the right fit and timing?”

Well-chosen relationships and projects deepen your network while protecting your training and wellness.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. I’m interested in peds psych residency or triple board, but my medical school doesn’t have these programs. How can I still network effectively?

You can still build a strong network by:

• Identifying faculty with interests near the intersection (e.g., child psychiatry, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, adolescent medicine, pediatric hospitalists who work closely with psychiatry).
• Seeking away rotations or electives at institutions with peds psych or triple board programs.
• Attending relevant national conferences (AAP, APA, AACAP) as a student and introducing yourself to faculty from combined programs.
• Asking current trainees (found via program websites or professional platforms) for brief conversations about their paths.

Your goal is to show genuine interest, seek guidance, and get to know the relatively small national community.

2. I feel awkward networking at conferences. What are some concrete “scripts” I can use?

Use simple, honest openers:

• “Hi, I’m [Name], a [PGY level] in peds psych/triple board at [Institution]. I really liked your point about [specific idea]. How did you get started working in that area?”
• At a table: “Is this seat taken? I’m [Name], in peds psych at [Institution]. What brought you to this conference/session?”
• At your own poster: “Thanks for stopping by—do you work more on the pediatric or psychiatry side?” (Then connect it to your work.)

Keep the first interaction short. If it goes well, ask if you can follow up by email.

3. How do I balance networking with my clinical responsibilities and personal life during residency?

Prioritize quality over quantity:

• Set a modest networking goal: e.g., one new person per month, one conference per year, one small project at a time.
• Integrate networking into things you’re already doing (e.g., staying at grand rounds 5–10 minutes afterward to introduce yourself to the speaker).
• Protect certain evenings or weekends as “no networking/academic work” time for rest and non-medical life.
• Use mentorship meetings to triage opportunities and say “no” when needed.

Sustainable networking supports your career; it shouldn’t undermine your well-being.

4. I don’t have a formal mentor in pediatrics-psychiatry at my institution. What should I do?

You can construct a de facto peds psych mentorship network by:

• Pairing a pediatric mentor and a child psychiatry mentor and asking if they’d be willing to jointly advise you (even if informally).
• Asking these mentors if they know anyone nationally with peds psych or triple board experience and requesting introductions.
• Joining relevant interest groups and listservs, then reaching out to individuals you admire.
• Using conferences intentionally to seek at least one mentor or senior colleague who understands combined training.

Over time, your network will increasingly include people who specifically “speak the language” of pediatrics-psychiatry, even if they’re not local.

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Networking in medicine for pediatrics-psychiatry and triple board is less about self-promotion and more about joining a small, mission-driven community. By approaching relationships with curiosity, respect, and follow-through, you’ll build a network that supports not just your career advancement, but also your ability to care for some of the most complex and vulnerable children and families in the healthcare system.