A Consensus-Driven Approach to Redesigning Graduate Medical Education: The Pediatric Anesthesiology Delphi Study.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Pediatric anesthesiology fellowship education requires updates due to advancements in surgical practices and evolving accreditation standards.
• The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA) formed a Task Force to enhance the pediatric anesthesiology training system.
• The Task Force aimed to identify curricular and evaluative improvements for future fellowship programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To build consensus on essential components for pediatric anesthesiology training.
• To identify current deficiencies and future needs in pediatric anesthesiology graduate medical education.
• To recommend strategies for enhancing national educational offerings and program requirements.

Main Methods:

• A nationally representative, stakeholder-based Delphi process was conducted.
• 37 pediatric anesthesiologists participated in iterative survey rounds from August 2020 to July 2021.
• The process focused on defining the core competencies of a pediatric anesthesiologist.

Main Results:

• A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis indicated more strengths and opportunities than weaknesses or threats.
• Stakeholders identified 8 essential nonclinical domains for fellows: patient safety, quality improvement, communication, supervision, leadership, medical education, research basics, and practice management.
• Recommendations include a new case log system and standardized assessment tools for competency-based education.

Conclusions:

• A Delphi process successfully achieved consensus on current pediatric anesthesiology training.
• Future directions emphasize nonclinical skills and improved assessment methods.
• Implementation requires significant support from various organizational levels.