Supervision of pediatric trainees in biosocial pediatrics. A survey of graduate programs

To assess the current state of supervisory methods in biosocial pediatrics, fellowship programs in ambulatory pediatrics (AP), adolescent medicine (AM), and behavioral pediatrics/child development (BP/CD) were surveyed. Fifty-eight responses (98%) were analyzed. Forty-five percent of programs dealt extensively with behavioral pediatric problems. The AM and BP/CD fellowships were more psychosocially oriented than the AP programs. Ninety-two percent of AM and 82% of BP/CD programs used a formal supervisory style, but 48% of AP programs relied solely on unscheduled supervision. Direct observation or audiovisual tapes were used by only 57% of the programs. Significantly fewer AP programs used such objective methods. Supervision of biosocial pediatric programs should be formalized and include direct observation or audiovisual tapes.