Global health opportunities within pediatric subspecialty fellowship training programs: surveying the virtual landscape

Abstract

BackgroundThere is growing interest in global health among medical trainees. Medical schools and residencies are responding to this trend by offering global health opportunities within their programs. Among United States (US) graduating pediatric residents, 40% choose to subspecialize after residency training. There is limited data, however, regarding global health opportunities within traditional post-residency, subspecialty fellowship training programs. The objectives of this study were to explore the availability and type of global health opportunities within Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited pediatric subspecialty fellowship training programs, as noted by their online report, and to document change in these opportunities over time.MethodsThe authors performed a systematic online review of ACGME-accredited fellowship training programs within a convenience sample of six US pediatric subspecialties. Utilizing two data sources, the American Medical Association-Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access (AMA-FREIDA) and individual program websites, all programs were coded for global health opportunities and opportunity types were stratified into predefined categories. Comparisons were made between 2008 and 2011 using Fisher exact test. All analyses were conducted using SAS Software v. 9.3 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC).ResultsOf the 355 and 360 programs reviewed in 2008 and 2011 respectively, there was an increase in total number of programs listing global health opportunities on AMA-FREIDA (16% to 23%, p=0.02) and on individual program websites (8% to 16%, p=0.004). Nearly all subspecialties had an increased percentage of programs offering global health opportunities on both data sources; although only critical care experienced a significant increase (p=0.04, AMA-FREIDA). The types of opportunities differed across all subspecialties.ConclusionsGlobal health opportunities among ACGME-accredited pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs are limited, but increasing as noted by their online report. The availability and types of these opportunities differ by pediatric subspecialty.

Perceived Cultural Competency Skills and Deficiencies Among Pediatric Residents and Faculty at a Large Teaching Hospital

“…We agree with other researchers that thoughtful CC training should be integrated into residencyassociated learning opportunities in global health and medically underserved populations in the United States. 11,33,34 Our survey results suggest that CC training should be considered for pediatric faculty. The results also suggest important areas for future study, including quality benchmarks for cross-cultural training, further study of the development of cultural humility, assessment and support for faculty cross-cultural training, and improved training for pediatric residents to care for patients from diverse backgrounds.…”

Development of a Global Health Teaching Fellowship for Global Health Care Capacity Building

“…9,10 The structure of existing global health fellowships varies greatly; differences include the duration of training; number of trainees; location and type of fieldwork; whether a master's degree or other diploma is offered; and the amount of time spent on clinical responsibilities, research, coursework, or teaching. 6,11,12 Regardless of structure, the rapid growth in the number of fellowships offered speaks to the increasing demand for advanced training in global health 6 and a growing appreciation for how fellows can contribute during and after their fellowship to the changing landscape of global health. As North American global health programs evolve to reflect the broader changes in the field, [13][14][15] there is increasing recognition of the need for skilled educators to maintain focus on developing long-term, sustainable, and collaborative partnerships that emphasize local capacity building and empowerment.…”

Status of global health fellowship training in the United States and Canada

“…The first survey of U.S. GH fellowships documented the growing number and variety of GH fellowship opportunities available in 2010 and described program characteristics such as size, duration, specialty, and educational activities. 5 Subsequently, profiles of individual GH fellowships [6][7][8][9][10] and reviews of GH opportunities within subspecialty fellowships [11][12][13][14][15][16] have been published.…”