Jennifer Maniscalco

Pediatric Hospital Medicine Core Competencies: Development and methodology

BACKGROUND Pediatric hospital medicine is the most rapidly growing site-based pediatric specialty. There are over 2500 unique members in the three core societies in which pediatric hospitalists are members: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM). Pediatric hospitalists are fulfilling both clinical and system improvement roles within varied hospital systems. Defined expectations and competencies for pediatric hospitalists are needed. METHODS In 2005, SHMs Pediatric Core Curriculum Task Force initiated the project and formed the editorial board. Over the subsequent four years, multiple pediatric hospitalists belonging to the AAP, APA, or SHM contributed to the content of and guided the development of the project. Editors and collaborators created a framework for identifying appropriate competency content areas. Content experts from both within and outside of pediatric hospital medicine participated as contributors. A number of selected national organizations and societies provided valuable feedback on chapters. The final product was validated by formal review from the AAP, APA, and SHM. RESULTS The Pediatric Hospital Medicine Core Competencies were created. They include 54 chapters divided into four sections: Common Clinical Diagnoses and Conditions, Core Skills, Specialized Clinical Services, and Healthcare Systems: Supporting and Advancing Child Health. Each chapter can be used independently of the others. Chapters follow the knowledge, skills, and attitudes educational curriculum format, and have an additional section on systems organization and improvement to reflect the pediatric hospitalists responsibility to advance systems of care. CONCLUSION These competencies provide a foundation for the creation of pediatric hospital medicine curricula and serve to standardize and improve inpatient training practices.

Development of a Curricular Framework for Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowships

PHM fellowship directors have developed a standardized curricular framework for 2-year fellowship in PHM. Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) is an emerging field in pediatrics and one that has experienced immense growth and maturation in a short period of time. Evolution and rapid expansion of the field invigorated the goal of standardizing PHM fellowship curricula, which naturally aligned with the field’s evolving pursuit of a defined identity and consideration of certification options. The national group of PHM fellowship program directors sought to establish curricular standards that would more accurately reflect the competencies needed to practice pediatric hospital medicine and meet future board certification needs. In this manuscript, we describe the method by which we reached consensus on a 2-year curricular framework for PHM fellowship programs, detail the current model for this framework, and provide examples of how this curricular framework may be applied to meet the needs of a variety of fellows and fellowship programs. The 2-year PHM fellowship curricular framework was developed over a number of years through an iterative process and with the input of PHM fellowship program directors (PDs), PHM fellowship graduates, PHM leaders, pediatric hospitalists practicing in a variety of clinical settings, and other educators outside the field. We have developed a curricular framework for PHM Fellowships that consists of 8 education units (defined as 4 weeks each) in 3 areas: clinical care, systems and scholarship, and individualized curriculum.

Current Perspectives on Transport Medicine in Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowships

Transport medicine (TM) is a Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) Core Competency and part of the proposed PHM fellowship curricular framework. No published TM curricula are available. This cross-sectional study was designed to determine attitudes toward TM training among PHM fellowship stakeholders and conduct a TM curriculum needs assessment. Unique, web-based, anonymous surveys for PHM fellows, graduates, and program directors (PDs) were administered, with response rates of 57%, 37%, and 44%, respectively. Fellows’ interest in completing a TM rotation is greater than their perceived interest by PDs (P = .06). Graduates who completed a TM rotation were more likely to recommend a TM rotation than those who did not (P = .001). Perceived barriers included lack of a formal TM curriculum and time constraints. Stabilizing patients and triage of referrals were deemed important learning objectives, and active learning strategies were prioritized. Curriculum design should focus on topics specific to the transport process and environment.