J15

MEDICAL STUDENT AND RESIDENT EDUCATION:  SETTING UP A COMPREHENSIVE CURRICULUM IN CHILD ABUSE PEDIATRICS

Presenter: Leena Dev, Suzanne Starling

Abstract Category: Medical

Instruction Level: All

Presentation: Click Here

Description:      

This interactive workshop will provide methods to establish a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary curriculum in child abuse education for residents and medical students using diverse resources creatively.

Abstract:

Recognizing, assessing and working-up cases of child abuse is a critical skill that all physicians working with children must feel comfortable with. Child abuse spans all specialties from general pediatrics to family practice to emergency medicine and more, yet multiple studies have shown that physicians do not feel comfortable making the diagnosis of child abuse.

Child Abuse Pediatrics is now recognized as a subspecialty by the American Board of Pediatrics and as such, should be taught formally to residents. It is essential for all health providers working with children to have the knowledge and skills in the detection of child abuse and to further feel comfortable in communicating with protective services, law enforcement and prosecuting attorneys. 

The new curriculum in Child Abuse Pediatrics implemented at the University of Michigan consists of four components: Medical, Social Work, Legal and Prevention. These are areas that all physicians should feel comfortable with and knowledgeable about by the time they finish residency.

Through this curriculum, which has received a $10,000 Innovative Teaching Grant, residents have a clearer understanding of how to evaluate child abuse; how child abuse investigations proceed through protective services and the judicial systems; and physician’s role in the process.  Knowledge of this process is the key to understanding issues in child maltreatment and the subsequent reporting of it.

This interactive workshop will provide methods to establish a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary curriculum in child abuse pediatrics that is easily replicable and should be implemented in medical schools and residency programs around the country.