Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) has experienced immense growth over the last 20 years. The American Board of Medical Specialties approved PHM as a subspecialty in 2016 and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) introduced fellowship requirements in 2019. Due to accreditation requirements, there was a need to establish standardized curricular components. This led the national PHM Fellowship Directors’ Council Curriculum Subcommittee to embark on a collaborative approach to develop curricular goals and objectives.
In a recent article published in Hospital Pediatrics, (10.1542/hpeds.2020-003681) authors describe the development of these goals and objectives and how they can be utilized by fellowship programs. Using Kern’s conceptional framework for curriculum design, the committee introduces peer-reviewed, evidence-informed goals and objectives for PHM fellowships that both align with ACGME core competencies and map to Knowledge-Skills-Attitudes domains and Entrustable Professional Activities. The curricula are already accessible to all PHM fellowship program directors. Fellowship programs will benefit by the opportunity to adapt and implement these goals and objectives to facilitate high-quality educational experiences. In addition to providing a framework for clinical expectations, it will guide evaluation and assessment of trainees.
Kudos to the authors on this innovative and important endeavor, which is the first of its kind for any fellowship curricula. As the newest pediatric subspeciality, PHM continues to lead the way!
*Please note: Dr. Ann Allen was mentioned in the acknowledgments of this article.
