A Comprehensive Outpatient Pediatric Resident Complex Care Curriculum

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pediatrics
• Complex Care

Background:

• Pediatric residents receive limited formal training in primary care for children with medical complexity (CMC).
• Existing training often focuses on acute care, leaving a gap in preparing residents for the ongoing needs of CMC.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a curriculum aimed at enhancing pediatric resident knowledge, skills, and behaviors for providing a medical home to CMC.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of this novel outpatient complex care curriculum.

Main Methods:

• A curriculum based on Kolb's experiential cycle was developed for pediatric residents and fellows.
• Trainees engaged in online didactics, patient care sessions, and community-based site visits.
• Pre- and post-rotation assessments measured knowledge, skills, and self-reported behaviors (SRB).

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in resident knowledge (p < .001), self-assessed skills (2.5 to 4.2), and SRB (2.3 to 2.8).
• Learner evaluations indicated positive reception to site visits and video lectures.
• The curriculum covered seven of 11 nationally recommended topics.

Conclusions:

• The comprehensive outpatient complex care curriculum effectively improved trainee knowledge, skills, and behaviors.
• This program addresses a critical need in preparing physicians for the primary care of CMC.
• The findings support the integration of such specialized training into pediatric residency programs.