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Pediatric environmental health competencies for specialists
Ruth A Etzel1, Ellen F Crain, Benjamin A Gitterman
1George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC, USA. retzel@earthlink.net
Background:
Because environmental health problems are complex and require specialty training, the Ambulatory Pediatric Association initiated a 3-year postgraduate fellowship in Pediatric Environmental Health.
Objective:
To develop competencies for the specialty of Pediatric Environmental Health and appropriate measures (performance indicators) for the achievement of these competencies.
Methods:
The President of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association appointed a 6-member Fellowship Oversight Committee to guide the development of the Fellowship Program and to draft competencies for fellows in Pediatric Environmental Health. The Committee developed a list of proposed competencies for graduates of Pediatric Environmental Health fellowships. These were skills identified as very important for a specialist to have for minimal competency in the practice of pediatric environmental health.
Results:
Twenty-seven Pediatric Environmental Health competencies are proposed. The competencies are presented from 3 separate perspectives: academic, individual patient care, and community advocacy. Each competency has a list of suggested performance indicators.
Conclusion:
These competencies are intended to assist in structuring the training experience, achieving consensus with respect to expectations of fellows and faculty, providing opportunities for fellows to assess their own needs or gaps in training, and identifying the expertise of fellowship graduates to potential employers.