TY - JOUR
T1 - An assessment of pancreatology education in North American pediatric gastroenterology fellowship programs
AU - Hopson, Puanani
AU - Moreau, Chris
AU - Yazici, Cemal
AU - Han, Samuel
AU - Akshintala, Venkata
AU - Archibugi, Livia
AU - Lee, Peter
AU - Uc, Aliye
N1 - Funding Information:
The large percentage of NASPGHAN attendees is unsurprising, but the lack of attendance at DDW and pancreas specific conferences (i.e. APA, PancreasFest, NPF-FS) is notable given the research and conference attendance funding available to support trainees. Training programs can encourage their fellows to attend pancreas specific conferences which provide educational and research opportunities to help foster the career of future pancreatologists.North American Pediatric GI training programs have accomplished the goal of providing fellows with the confidence they need to treat AP. This likely reflects the research and education initiatives from NASPGHAN and INSPPIRE that have contributed to the fund of knowledge and training in the field of pediatric pancreatology. The exposure to a variety of pancreatic diseases and number of patients, frequency of pancreas didactics, and supervision by pancreatology faculty were positively correlated with fellows? confidence in diagnosing and managing pancreatic diseases. To ensure continued progress in the field of pediatric pancreatology, trainees should be encouraged to attend pancreas specific conferences and have access to pancreatology elective opportunities. These could include targeted rotations at centers that see a variety of pancreatic diseases, offer pancreas specific didactics and exposure to specialized pancreas research. Lower confidence in treating ARP and CP and lack of interest in specializing in pancreatology are areas which require more attention from training programs and support from societies such as NASPGHAN.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IAP and EPC
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - Background/Objectives: Within the last two decades, an increased incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) has been reported in childhood, with some progressing to acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) or chronic pancreatitis (CP). Training future pancreatologists is critical to improve the care of children with pancreatic diseases. There are no studies to assess whether the pediatric gastroenterology (GI) fellowship curriculum prepares specialists to care for children with pancreatic diseases. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to all North American Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellows. The survey included 31 questions on pancreatology training including academic resources, research experience, clinical exposure, clinical confidence, and career plans. Results: A total of 112 (25.8%) fellows responded from 41 (41/72, 56.9%) training centers in North America. Pancreas-specific didactic lectures were reported by 90.2% (n = 101); 49.5% (50/101) had at least quarterly or monthly lectures. Clinical confidence (Likert 4–5) was highest in managing and treating AP (94.6% and 93.8% respectively), relatively lower for ARP (84.8% and 71.4%) and lowest for CP (63.4% and 42.0%). Confidence in diagnosing both ARP and CP was associated with the variety of pancreatic diseases seen (p < 0.001) and total number of patients followed over a 6 month period (p = 0.04). Nine (8%) reported interest in specializing in pancreatology, 12 (10.7%) in pursuing research in the pancreatology. Conclusions: Trainee confidence is highest in managing AP, lowest in CP, and seems to be directly correlated with the variety of pancreatic diseases and number of patients followed. Continued commitment is necessary to foster training of the next generation of pediatric pancreatologists.
AB - Background/Objectives: Within the last two decades, an increased incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) has been reported in childhood, with some progressing to acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) or chronic pancreatitis (CP). Training future pancreatologists is critical to improve the care of children with pancreatic diseases. There are no studies to assess whether the pediatric gastroenterology (GI) fellowship curriculum prepares specialists to care for children with pancreatic diseases. Methods: An electronic survey was distributed to all North American Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellows. The survey included 31 questions on pancreatology training including academic resources, research experience, clinical exposure, clinical confidence, and career plans. Results: A total of 112 (25.8%) fellows responded from 41 (41/72, 56.9%) training centers in North America. Pancreas-specific didactic lectures were reported by 90.2% (n = 101); 49.5% (50/101) had at least quarterly or monthly lectures. Clinical confidence (Likert 4–5) was highest in managing and treating AP (94.6% and 93.8% respectively), relatively lower for ARP (84.8% and 71.4%) and lowest for CP (63.4% and 42.0%). Confidence in diagnosing both ARP and CP was associated with the variety of pancreatic diseases seen (p < 0.001) and total number of patients followed over a 6 month period (p = 0.04). Nine (8%) reported interest in specializing in pancreatology, 12 (10.7%) in pursuing research in the pancreatology. Conclusions: Trainee confidence is highest in managing AP, lowest in CP, and seems to be directly correlated with the variety of pancreatic diseases and number of patients followed. Continued commitment is necessary to foster training of the next generation of pediatric pancreatologists.
KW - Academic resources
KW - Clinical confidence
KW - Clinical education
KW - Gastroenterology fellowship
KW - Pancreatitis
KW - Pancreatology training
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U2 - 10.1016/j.pan.2021.10.008
DO - 10.1016/j.pan.2021.10.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 34753657
AN - SCOPUS:85118702744
SN - 1424-3903
VL - 22
SP - 142
EP - 147
JO - Pancreatology
JF - Pancreatology
IS - 1
ER -