A Need for Faculty Development in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Identifying and managing issues of child development and behavior is a crucial part of primary care pediatrics. Despite its importance, many pediatricians do not receive adequate training in developmental and behavioral pediatrics (DBP). In a Web-based survey, general pediatric faculty reported a need for improved resident education and additional faculty development. Only 4 percent of respondents felt the quality of current residency training in DBP was excellent and most (64%) felt that too little time was devoted to training in this subject. Nearly all the respondents agreed that increasing faculty skills in this area would significantly improve residents' training but cited the lack of release time (67%) and funding (74%) to attend continuing education as important barriers. To improve faculty skills and resident training, the authors recommend expanding the scope of DBP fellowship programs to include faculty development and making faculty development a regular expectation within academic pediatrics.