Abstract
BackgroundPediatric rheumatology faces many challenges due to the shortage of board certified physicians in the field and the imbalance in their geographic distribution. This shortage has required primary care physicians and adult rheumatologists to assume the care of children with rheumatologic diseases, though these physicians report significant discomfort doing so. We are addressing this issue through the development of a novel web-based curriculum aimed at primary care physicians.MethodsWe pursued a needs assessment survey of Vanderbilt pediatric residency graduates (1981–2010) working in primary care. Our goals were to understand their perceptions of what the needs are and what educational interventions would be most effective.ResultsOf 152 surveys sent successfully via Survey Monkey, we received 28 responses (18.4%). Responses suggest there to be a discrepancy between physicians’ general assessment of their training and their self-reported ability to recognize specific diseases. Nearly 80% of respondents felt that additional education in pediatric rheumatology would improve their ability to co-manage children with the rheumatologist. Action plans for common rheumatologic complaints and potential emergencies were thought to be of potential benefit by a majority of respondents.ConclusionsWe will utilize our survey results to develop a learner centered curriculum to have the highest positive impact in assisting primary care providers in caring for children with rheumatologic diseases.
Highlights
Pediatric rheumatology faces many challenges due to the shortage of board certified physicians in the field and the imbalance in their geographic distribution
The care for children with rheumatologic diseases faces major challenges, many of which are tied to the longrecognized shortage of board certified pediatric rheumatologists in the U.S An American College of Rheumatology (ACR) workforce study projects that even though the number of pediatric rheumatologists is rising, the increase in demand will outpace these gains over the 20 years [1]
There is a gross imbalance of geographic distribution; 40% of U.S children live more than 40 miles from a pediatric rheumatologist; 24% live more than 80 miles from such care [2]
Summary
Pediatric rheumatology faces many challenges due to the shortage of board certified physicians in the field and the imbalance in their geographic distribution This shortage has required primary care physicians and adult rheumatologists to assume the care of children with rheumatologic diseases, though these physicians report significant discomfort doing so. We are addressing this issue through the development of a novel web-based curriculum aimed at primary care physicians. We have embarked on a project to develop a novel web-based interactive educational resource linking off the Vanderbilt Department of Pediatrics website This resource will be aimed at primary care providers, and will have application for pediatric residents still in training. Our specific goals with this project are: 1) To avoid delayed diagnoses of treatable autoimmune diseases in children, thereby minimizing the probability of poor outcomes such as irreversible joint damage; 2) To increase the effectiveness of collaborative care between primary and subspecialty care physicians when access to a pediatric rheumatologist is limited; 3) To help attract residents to careers in pediatric rheumatology
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