Training and preparing physicians to care for mentally retarded and handicapped children.
With the recent significant changes in the care of mentally retarded and handicapped children, the role of the physician has concomitantly changed. There is an increasing need to provide generic health care for affected children living in the community and counselling and guidance to the families. Medical trainees must, therefore, be furnished with both technical skills to diagnose and treat, as well as with an understanding of the philosophical basis for changing practices in the field. An approach to training used at our Center is described which includes specific goals and educational objectives for physicians-in-training including medical students, house officers (residents) and fellows. The training is based on an understanding of the skills, of the level of sophistication, and of the pressures felt as a result of competing priorities that the various trainees bring to their training experience. Based on the evaluation information available about the training format, which includes interdisciplinary team experiences, demonstration and observation sessions, didactic presentations and visits to a variety of programs, the approach to training has been proven to be successful in achieving its goals.
D002648:Child; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability; D007396:Internship and Residency; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D010819:Physician's Role