WIP 46 - Enhancing a pediatric residency’s curriculum to emphasize patient advocacy and inter-professional network building

Poster Number: WIP 46
Publication Number: WIP 46.2483

Background: The new ACGME requirements for pediatric residency programs, made effective in July 2023, place emphasis on curriculum components involving patient and community advocacy, recognition and mitigation of social inequity, inter-professional communication, and cooperation with care teams. The children in the community served by our Pediatric Residency program in Newark, NJ face substantial poverty, social inequity, and barriers to health care access that require effective inter-professional network building. Within our community advocacy and ambulatory care curricula, we expanded inter-professional experiences to include a broader variety of experts who serve the medical and social needs of our patients. Exposure to core rotation components (Child Abuse, Lactation, and Behavioral Health) were maintained, while new experiences were established to include specialty diagnostic and/or treatment services (Audiology, Early Intervention, Dentistry, Prenatal Care, and Pharmacy) as well as community services who provide non-medical but essential social resources (Rutgers Law School Education and Health Law Clinic and WIC). Residents were also invited to visit the homes of individual patients with chronic complex care needs, where they explored caregiver experiences navigating social and medical care systems. These changes are intended to strengthen pediatric residents’ knowledge of, relationships with, and appropriate referrals to specialty diagnostic/care and community resource providers.

Objective: To determine whether the new curriculum has developed knowledge of available avenues to resources, and whether residents have made use of those resources since completion of the curriculum.

Design/Methods: Surveys will be administered to the group of residents who have completed the curriculum. These will assess (1) knowledge of available medical and social community resource providers and (2) examine instances in which those contacts were made.