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ABP Publishes 2017 Annual Report

The 2017 Annual Report from the American Board of Pediatrics is now available. 

ABP's Woods Receives Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award

Last week, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) presented awards to 27 recipients at its Annual Educational Conference, one of the largest gatherings of graduate medical educators in the world. 

Suzanne K. Woods, MD, Executive Vice President of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), was one of nine recipients of The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award. The award is “given to program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency programs and served as exemplary role models for residents.”

MOC Now More Efficient and Effective

The American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) has made significant changes to its Maintenance of Certification Program (MOC) over the past several years. Many changes were prompted by diplomates who believe in the benefits of certification and ongoing assessment, and want to help improve the process.

The ABP is striving to make the MOC process more efficient and effective for pediatricians who want to provide excellent care for children. MOC provides tools for life-long learning, knowledge assessment, and quality improvement, and documents for the public that pediatricians are staying current and improving their practice. 

Building Strong Careers from Residency to Retirement

Pediatricians in practice have spent, on average, four years in medical school and have successfully completed three years in pediatric residency (plus another two-to-three years if they trained in a subspecialty).

These pediatricians have qualified for a medical license in each state in which they practice. And the majority have taken and passed an intense, seven-hour, 335-question exam to become certified by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).

This wealth of skills and knowledge provides a strong foundation on which to start a successful and rewarding career. 

Improving Training to Promote Lifelong Learning

Dr. Pamela Londres confers with Dr. Christian Lawrence.The journey of continuous learning for pediatricians begins during residency, when they are gaining the competencies to provide medical care for children without direct supervision. During these years of training, they are guided by pediatric program directors who, along with other pediatric faculty members, monitor their progress and help them identify and fill gaps in their knowledge and skills.

Thrive at Five

When a young child comes into the primary care center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, the medical team reviews vaccination records, checks weight, and screens for dental, vision, and hearing health. As part of the hospital’s Thrive at Five project, the team also checks the child’s speech, literacy, and mental, emotional, and behavioral health. If a child is lagging in any of these areas, the medical team helps the parent or guardian find appropriate resources to prepare the child to succeed in kindergarten.

Portfolio Sponsors Spotlight: Children's National Health System

“This project demonstrates not just that we can develop great QI collaboratives with community-wide stakeholders, but also that we can align the work with the ABP requirements for practitioners to get MOC credit,”

- Dr. Mark Weissman, Chief, Division of General Pediatrics and Community Health

You Have to be Comfortable Being Incredibly Uncomfortable

FELLOW EARNS MOC CREDIT FOR CREATING MEDICAL RESPONSE TO VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC MINOR SEX TRAFFICKING

Approximately one month into her child abuse pediatrics fellowship at Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Dana Kaplan, MD, had a 16-year-old patient in the clinic who had been exchanging sex for money.

“I went to go speak with her, and I didn’t know what to say,” says Dr. Kaplan, who is now Director of Child Abuse and Neglect for the Department of Pediatrics at Staten Island University Hospital. “I didn’t know what was relevant to ask. I didn’t know what was pertinent to provide her medically.”

QI Project Improves Prehospital Protocol Compliance

As a pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physician, Manish Shah knows that a seizure or a severe allergic reaction can be deadly for children if they are not treated quickly and appropriately. With a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration’s Emergency Medical Services for Children program, he led the creation of guidelines for treating children during ambulance transport.

That was just the first step, though. He had to find a way to help paramedics understand and implement those new guidelines. 

Behavioral and Mental Health: Gaps and Challenges

Pediatricians are often the first professionals parents turn to when their child needs behavioral or mental health services — because of their trusting doctor-patient relationship or to avoid the perceived stigma of going to a mental health professional. So when Alexis King’s* middle child needed mental health services, she looked for help where Simon* was already receiving care.

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