681 EVALUATION OF RESIDENCY TRAINING IN BEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS

Abstract

The Dept. of Pediatrics established a program in Behavioral Pediatrics, including a two-month required rotation during both the PL-1 and PL-2 years. The impact of this program on first-year residents was evaluated by administering a questionnaire, assessing attitudes with regard to 15 clinical “entities”. These included primarily behavioral disorders (e.g., conversion reaction), primarily physical disorders (e.g., pharyngitis) and “mixed” disorders (e.g., terminal illness). Each entity was rated at four points in time: beginning of the year, start of the behavioral rotation, end of the rotation, and end of the year. Data were collected from 37 residents, from 1977 to 1980.

For behavioral disorders emphasized in the rotation, residents demonstrated a statistically significant increase in their self-reported competence with regard to diagnosis, management, advising parents, and knowledge of resources. Further, virtually all change occurred during the 2-month rotation. This was also the case for “mixed” disorders. In contrast, change in perceived competence for physical disorders was not specific to the rotation but, rather, increased evenly over the entire year. Ratings of faculty and housestaff interest remained constant across testing points, and residents' “desire to learn more” and prediction of “future relevance” showed a slight decrease over time (for all types of disorders). These data demonstrate that changes in residents' perceived competence are directly related to their rotation experience, and suggest that behavioral issues can be introduced successfully during the first year of residency training.

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