This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (7)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Medical Practice  • Medical Education  • Pediatrics, Other  • World Health  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

The University of Colorado Department of Pediatrics’ Experience

Steven G. Federico, MD; Pamela A. Zachar, MD; Claire M. Oravec; Tessa Mandler; Edward Goldson, MD; Jeff Brown, MD, MPH

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2006;160:191-196.

Objectives  To describe the organizational features of an international child health elective (ICHE) and to document the diversity of diagnoses observed by residents.

Design  Faculty from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, created a steering committee in 1999 to develop and direct an ICHE, including selecting residents, selecting and organizing sites, and creating objectives and a year-long preparatory curriculum. The elective was piloted in 2000 and repeated in 2002 and 2004.

Setting and Participants  Residents chose from 4 ICHE sites in Peru and Guatemala, where they observed clinical care in various clinical settings during a 4-week elective.

Main Outcome Measures  The ICHE was evaluated via written evaluations by faculty and residents as well as written and oral reports by participating residents.

Results  During the 2000 and 2004 electives, residents recorded clinical cases in a data-entry log. Of the patients logged, 18% had illnesses never seen before by the residents and 5.6% had illnesses in advanced stages not previously seen by the residents. Strong reciprocal relationships were created between the department and participating international institutions. Residents reported uniformly that the elective was a valuable element of their training.

Conclusions  Planning and faculty involvement in ICHEs helps to ensure achievement of elective objectives. Well-organized ICHEs have the potential to augment resident education. The experience at our institution demonstrates that ICHEs can provide experience with a variety of medical systems, exposure to diverse pathophysiologic conditions, and opportunities for collaboration with international colleagues.

Author Affiliations: Department of Pediatrics (Drs Federico, Zachar, Goldson, and Brown), University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (Mss Oravec and Mandler), Denver; and Denver Health Medical Center (Drs Federico, Zachar, and Brown).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Students whose behaviour causes concern: Am I my brother's keeper?
Galukande
BMJ 2008;337:a2875-a2875.
FULL TEXT  

Global Health Training in Pediatric Residency Programs
Nelson et al.
Pediatrics 2008;122:28-33.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT