title: The 2015 Academic College of Emergency Experts in India's INDO-US Joint Working Group White Paper on Establishing an Academic Department and Training Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialists in India.
abstract: The concept of pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) is virtually nonexistent in India. Suboptimally, organized prehospital services substantially hinder the evaluation, management, and subsequent transport of the acutely ill and/or injured child to an appropriate facility. Furthermore, the management of the ill child at the hospital level is often provided by overburdened providers who, by virtue of their training, lack experience in the skills required to effectively manage pediatric emergencies. Finally, the care of the traumatized child often requires the involvement of providers trained in different specialities, which further impedes timely access to appropriate care. The recent recognition of Doctor of Medicine (MD) in Emergency Medicine (EM) as an approved discipline of study as per the Indian Medical Council Act provides an unprecedented opportunity to introduce PEM as a formal academic program in India. PEM has to be developed as a 3-year superspeciality course (in PEM) after completion of MD/Diplomate of National Board (DNB) Pediatrics or MD/DNB in EM. The National Board of Examinations (NBE) that accredits and administers postgraduate and postdoctoral programs in India also needs to develop an academic program - DNB in PEM. The goals of such a program would be to impart theoretical knowledge, training in the appropriate skills and procedures, development of communication and counseling techniques, and research. In this paper, the Joint Working Group of the Academic College of Emergency Experts in India (JWG-ACEE-India) gives its recommendations for starting 3-year DM/DNB in PEM, including the curriculum, infrastructure, staffing, and training in India. This is an attempt to provide an uniform framework and a set of guiding principles to start PEM as a structured superspeciality to enhance emergency care for Indian children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Wayne State School of Medicine, Michigan, USA.
authors.forename: Prashant
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Prerna
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Batra
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Binita R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Abhijeet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saha
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Sagar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Galwankar
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Praveen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Aggrawal
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Ameer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hassoun
authors.affiliation: National Board of Examinations, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Bipin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Batra
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhoi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Om Prakash
authors.initials: OP
authors.lastname: Kalra
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Dheeraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Shah
keywords: India; pediatric emergency medicine; white paper