An innovative curriculum for primary care neonatology

This article describes the design of an innovative curriculum for pediatric residency newborn nursery rotation. In 1989, the Accreditation Committee for Graduate Medical Education added the requirement of newborn care to pediatric residency training; in 1996, the Accreditation Committee for Graduate Medical Education expanded that requirement. Specifically, certification required 4 weeks of newborn care, separate from any neonatal intensive care experience, and with at least 2 weeks in a newborn nursery. In response, we designed a structured newborn nursery curriculum for our pediatric residency training program. Three areas of focus were identified, from which the content and the strategies for teaching were derived. The areas of focus were (1). primary care, (2). confluence of levels of care that arise in newborn care, and (3). limitations and advantages of the structure and the environment of the rotation. The curriculum was implemented on a pediatric level 1 (PL-1) rotation entitled "primary care neonatology."