Clinical excellence in child and adolescent psychiatry: examples from the published literature

Abstract

There has been growing interest in the past century in improving understanding of the development and treatment of psychopathology of children, with increasing government funding of research in the past two decades. However, child and adolescent psychiatry excellence in clinical care has not been well-documented in the existing literature. This article provides examples of clinical excellence in paediatric mental health to supplement existing guidelines for the clinical practice of paediatric psychiatry. A review of the literature identified 204 unique peer-reviewed articles that were then further evaluated for applicability and relevance to the definition of clinical excellence as outlined by the Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence (MCACE). Cases were then identified and selected for each domain of clinical excellence as they apply to child and adolescent psychiatry and to provide a model for patient care. Keypoints Clinical excellence in child and adolescent psychiatry has not previously been defined or extensively documented. The Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence (MCACE) has developed a systematic method to measuring excellence in clinical care and created a definition of clinical excellence. The MCACE defined the domains of clinical excellence as communication and interpersonal skills, professionalism and humanism, diagnostic acumen, skilful negotiation of the healthcare system, knowledge, scholarly approach to clinical practice, exhibiting a passion for patient care and modelling clinical excellence, and collaborating with investigators to advance science and discovery. There are numerous case examples in the literature that represent mastery in paediatric psychiatry in these areas. Clinicians in paediatric mental health will likely benefit from future research on evidence-based approaches to training and education in these domains of clinical excellence.