Teaching undergraduate medical students Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP): a Delphi study on curriculum content

Abstract

BackgroundThe prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and young people is high but despite this, many doctors have difficulty identifying and managing psychiatric disorders presenting in this age group. The purpose of this study was to determine appropriate curriculum content in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) for a Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) course. Doctors with a background in primary care who were also involved in undergraduate teaching rated how necessary they considered a number of knowledge, skills and attitudes items were for inclusion in the CAP curriculum.MethodsAn online questionnaire study was carried out using modified Delphi methodology in two rounds. The questionnaire was derived from a list of CAP learning objectives and/or curricular content obtained from a thorough review of the literature. 23 of the 24 doctors who had agreed to participate went on to complete the round one questionnaire (95.8% response rate) with 19 also completing round 2 (82.6%). Where there was high agreement (70% or more) amongst participants, items were considered as having sufficient consensus to either accept or reject them. Mean scores were then used as a way to prioritise items.ResultsAt the end of round two, there was consensus to consider including 26 of the 34 knowledge items, 16 of the 20 skills items and three of the four attitudes items in the CAP curriculum. The most highly rated knowledge, skills and attitudes items were depression/ suicide; communicating with children, young people and families; and rapport building. The majority (83.3%) of round two responders, considered that the current amount of CAP teaching time was “too little”.ConclusionsDelphi methodology proved useful for determining consensus and the priority rankings of the CAP knowledge, skills and attitudes items can now be used to help educators determine which topics to focus upon. The study findings support the need for additional CAP teaching time in the GEM curriculum and will help to shape new CAP content. Additional formal CAP teaching time has already been incorporated into the psychiatry speciality attachment, a new clinical skills session has been developed and CAP topics have been introduced into written and clinical examinations.

The impact of facilitators and rural immersion on medical student engagement during a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Videoconference workshop.

“…Our ndings emphasize the important role of GP facilitators to help students identify CAP cases in routine clinical practice, and support recommendations for CAP teaching in primary care. 9 External factors in the workshop learning environment, distinct from the role of facilitators, impacted on student engagement and should be considered when planning a CAP workshop. The emotional impact of CAP cases can be signi cant.…”

“…6,8 The care of children with CAP presentations could be improved by enhancing medical education to re ect the future needs of GPs, including supporting CAP to have a proportionate emphasis in the medical curriculum. 9 To date, however, CAP education in medical schools has been limited, 1,5,8 with enormous variation in curricula internationally. 6 CAP teaching aims are frequently ambiguous and there is no consensus on which core topics should be taught or the optimum number of hours of teaching required.…”

“…6 CAP teaching aims are frequently ambiguous and there is no consensus on which core topics should be taught or the optimum number of hours of teaching required. 9 Teaching methods that encourage an active role for students, such as interactive case discussions, 1 improve enjoyment and interest in clinical cases, 10 yet didactic lectures and seminars remain the most commonly used CAP teaching methods in Australian medical schools. 1 Given these limitations, optimal student-teacher engagement is crucial to maximize learning during CAP teaching.…”

Core competencies required by toxicology graduates in order to function effectively in a Poisons Information Centre: A Delphi study

“…The questionnaire responses were summarised and data from round one were exported to SPSS and then analysed. We followed the method of Salmon and Tombs [ 14 ] and defined consensus as being reached when an item on the competency list was rated 70% or more. Items which achieved consensus (>70% of participants rated the item as unnecessary/unimportant or important/definitely necessary) were removed from the survey.…”

<p>Teaching Medical Students About Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): The Design And Development Of An E-Learning Resource</p>

“…Given the increase in prevalence in Child and Adolescent mental health problems, calls have been made to increase the amount of teaching of associated topics and to prioritise teaching CAP clinical skills over CAP knowledge 12–14. For example, in a recent Delphi study of undergraduate curriculum content in CAP, participants gave a high priority to application of knowledge and to clinical skills such as interviewing parents and taking a child and adolescent psychiatric history 15. In an attempt to help educators maximize the use of available CAP teaching time, an e-learning resource for medical students on ADHD was developed as it was thought this might be a useful adjunct to classroom approaches to teaching ADHD knowledge or related clinical skills.…”