Published online February 29, 2008
PEDIATRICS Vol. 121 No. 3 March 2008, pp. 650-651 (doi:10.1542/peds.2007-3596)

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Assessing Procedural Skills Training in Pediatric Residency Programs: In Reply

Michael G. Gaies, MD, MPH
Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases
Division of Pediatric Cardiology
C. S. Mott Children's Hospital
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0204

Christopher P. Landrigan, MD, MPH
Department of Medicine,
Children's Hospital Boston
Department of Medicine
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, MA 02115

Janet P. Hafler, EdD
Office of Educational Affairs,
Tufts University School of Medicine,
Boston, MA 02111

Thomas J. Sandora, MD, MPH
Department of Medicine,
Children's Hospital Boston
Boston, MA 02115

We thank Dr Young for her thoughtful comments on our study in which we surveyed pediatric program directors to assess their opinions about the current state of procedural skills training in pediatric residency programs.¹ Dr Young raises a concern that we most certainly share: that the current environment for pediatric residency training may not be allowing a significant number of trainees to acquire skills necessary to eventually practice in settings where the ancillary services and subspecialty clinical support do not match those at their training institution. Residency programs must provide trainees with the opportunity to learn from mentors what skills they must master for their desired field, and must offer clinical and educational experiences which allow residents to achieve and maintain competence with procedures and other skills. We would also suggest that trainees, as adult learners, share in this responsibility and should seek out extra educational opportunities both during and after residency to hone the full complement of skills necessary to function in such an environment.

As suggested in the article, residency programs are also responsible for certifying a trainee's competence in performing procedures, and a validated, standardized method for doing so will benefit both trainees as well as their prospective employers in insuring that they have the necessary skills to practice effectively after training. It is not hard to imagine that such a system could also be extrapolated to recertification and privileging processes for practicing physicians, which would be an especially important assessment for practitioners who perform procedures infrequently.

The difficult question facing pediatric educators that this issue raises is how much should an individual resident's training be tailored to his/her ultimate career path? This question has further reaching implications than those simply related to procedural training. Should pediatric residency training be subdivided further into more specific tracks? Should certain types of institutions only train residents interested in a defined career path? As the demands on residency programs with regards to outcomes-based education increase,² the above questions are a likely source of debate among pediatric educators in the near future.

REFERENCES

1. Gaies MG, Landirgan CP, Hafler JP, Sandora TJ. Assessing Procedural Skills Training in Pediatric Residency Programs. Pediatrics.2007; 120 (4);715 –722[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. Sectish TC, Zalneraitis EL, Carraccio C, Behrman RE. The State of Pediatric Residency Training: A Period of Transformation of Graduate Medical Education. Pediatrics.2004; 114 (3);832 –841[Abstract/Free Full Text]

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PEDIATRICS (ISSN 1098-4275). ©2008 by the American Academy of Pediatrics

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This Article Extract Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gaies, M. G. Articles by Sandora, T. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Gaies, M. G. Articles by Sandora, T. J. Related Collections Office Practice Social Bookmarking                         What's this?