Policy & Position Statements

Position of Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education for Emergency Medicine Residency Training Programs

Directors of Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education for Emergency Medicine Residency Training Programs

A position of Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education should also be created within all academic emergency residency training programs. Ideally this position would be filled by a subspecialty trained PEM physician with background training in Emergency Medicine, although either a Pediatrics-trained PEM physician or an Emergency Medicine- trained physician with proven additional expertise in pediatric emergencies may also fulfill this role. The need for this academic position is predicated upon the philosophy that emergency medicine physicians-in-training spend a limited amount of time in Pediatrics, and as a unique set of learners they also require a unique curriculum and learning opportunities tailor-made for their educational needs. These unique educational needs that the Director of Pediatric Education would take charge of, include the following:

• Development of a well-defined and uniform core of knowledge and standard of care for specific pediatric emergencies, which EM residents could be expected to master before their graduation from residency.
• Development of objective measurement tools for assessment of EM resident pediatric core of knowledge.
• Provide on-going feedback to EM residents, monitor their individual progress and performance in pediatrics, and facilitate any remediation as needed.
• Development of improvements and initiatives in education for pediatric emergencies within the EM residency program.