title: Strengthening the academic base of general pediatrics fellowship programs: a national program and curriculum development project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To improve academic general pediatrics (AGP) fellowship programs by 1) developing curriculum guidelines and program standards and 2) creating a process for program review and consultation that might later be used for accreditation of AGP fellowship programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  This project of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association (APA) created 4 documents: AGP fellowship program requirements, core curriculum, educational goals and objectives, and a standardized form to describe required program characteristics. Site visits were conducted at 7 volunteer AGP fellowship programs, selected for diversity of content, structure, and location. Evaluations were conducted using a uniform checklist of requirements that combined numerical ratings with a written evaluation summary. Feedback from programs on the review process enabled refinement of the documents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The site visits revealed great variety in emphasis among the 7 programs. In general, faculty were dedicated and capable, and programs showed considerable educational strengths. Typical problems were lack of integration of the program within departmental structures, overburdened faculty, and uncertain funding. Many programs demonstrated suboptimal curriculum planning and weak evaluation methods. Most program leaders felt that the project materials helped to improve the quality of their programs, and 5 of 7 programs expressed willingness to be involved in formal accreditation review in the future.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AGP fellowship programs that volunteered for piloting of an accreditation process were diverse and vital, with rich educational offerings despite a lack of optimal curriculum structure, minimal evaluation, limited faculty resources, and tenuous funding. An APA accreditation process appears to be feasible and may enhance AGP fellowship programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. constance_baldwin@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Constance D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Szilagyi
authors.forename: Benard P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Dreyer
authors.forename: Louis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: Raymond C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: Tina L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Daniel L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Coury
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: DeWitt
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Darden
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Duggan
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ludwig
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards*; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education*; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States