Goals of the Training Program

The goal of this fellowship is to prepare fellows for academic leadership careers.  The curriculum teaches skills necessary to become effective clinicians, creative teachers, and knowledgeable and productive researchers.

The General Academic Pediatrics Fellowship provides training in the broad field of general academic pediatrics over a period of two to three years, and is part of the Harvard-wide collaborative program to develop General Internal Medicine and General Pediatrics faculty who can conduct research relevant to primary care.

The goals of this fellowship are:

• To prepare fellows for academic leadership careers by providing them with the requisite skills to become effective clinicians, creative teachers, and knowledgeable and productive researchers in the field of general academic pediatrics.
• To provide fellows with an understanding of how biologic, psychological and social factors inter-relate and determine patterns of childhood morbidity.
• To ensure that fellows develop organizational and management skills and an understanding of medical administration.

Training

The first year of fellowship is primarily clinical, and includes six clinical or precepting sessions per week in general pediatrics and related specialties. Fellows will also identify a research project and mentor during their first year. During the second and third years, fellows’ clinical responsibilities will decrease, and they will actively work on their research projects. They will also participate in a structured educational program such as a Master’s in Public Health degree at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Training includes the development of analytical skills sufficient to conduct independent clinical or health services research, and teaching skills appropriate for different learners and settings encountered by primary care faculty.  Fellows will also gain a deeper understanding of the needs of special populations such as the medically undeserved.  In addition to the goals set out above, fellows are supported to meet one or more of the following objectives:

• To develop quantitative and/or qualitative research skills that would enable them to work independently in research within an academic environment.
• To develop expertise in the areas of clinical teaching and supervision, curriculum development and research in medical education.
• To develop expertise in advocacy in the fellow’s area of interest and to undertake an advocacy project at the local, state or federal level.

All General Academic Pediatric fellows provide clinical care in a primary setting, either in the community or at Boston Children’s Primary Care at Longwood (a large continuity clinic with over 42,000 visits per year).

Fellows participate in ongoing research and are required to identify a research question and formulate their own research projects.  They may choose to undertake clinical, advocacy, or educational projects.  Opportunities to teach residents and medical students are available in multiple locations, including the Harvard Medical School Patient-doctor and Preventive Medicine courses, and the Boston Combined Residency Program.

The curriculum includes a component on advocacy which aims to foster the development of pediatricians who recognize the complex array of factors affecting the health and well-being of children.

Fellows have the opportunity to enroll in an MPH degree program at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Clinical Training

Fellows participate in primary care programs located at Boston Children’s Hospital and in community sites.The primary care center within Boston Children’s Hospital is Boston Children’s Primary Care at Longwood, which combines a faculty practice with the continuity practice of the hospital’s 80 residents. This primary care center also includes several specialty clinics focused on general pediatric conditions such as asthma and obesity. Located outside the hospital in Jamaica Plain is Boston Children’s Primary Care at Martha Eliot, a community site where fellows may also see patients. Fellows also participate in a multi-disciplinary clinic through the Division of Gastroenterology, with the potential for other clinical experiences based on individual interests. First year fellows will meet with faculty each month to review clinical questions and cases.

Advocating Success for Kids (ASK) Program
Primary care-based consultative program for patients with developmental, school and behavioral concerns.

Young Parents Program
A teen-tot program that won the Ambulatory Pediatrics Association national award for best clinical program.

Asthma Action Team
A specialty program within the primary care center for patients with asthma.

Rapid Assessment of Skin Health (RASH) Clinic
A primary-care based program for patients with dermatologic complaints.

Complex Care Service
Consultation and care coordination program for patients with special healthcare needs.

Growth and Nutrition
Multi-disciplinary clinic based in the Division of Gastroenterology that provides diagnostic and management services for children with poor weight gain.

Research Program

Fellows will acquire research skills in design, methods and analysis through monthly seminars and journal clubs as well as formal coursework. Fellows are expected to complete at least two research projects during the course of their fellowship. The projects may be clinical, educational or advocacy-related. Fellows will identify a research mentor and question of interest during their first year, and will further develop and implement their projects during the following two years. They will present their scholarly work at biannual Works in Progress sessions with faculty advisors.

Fellows have the opportunity to enroll in a Master’s of Public Health degree program at the Harvard School of Public Health or in other appropriate programs including those at the Kennedy School of Government or at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Fellows will also be asked to complete several research and career-development courses through the Clinical Research Center and the Offices of Fellowship Training and Graduate Medical Education.

Examples of previous fellowship projects include:

• Relationship of parental behaviors to child sleep duration
• Impact of developmental screening in primary care on referral patterns
• Development and implementation of an electronic referral form
• Development of an algorithm for management of acute otitis media
• Referral and treatment patterns among primary care eczema patients
• Maternal depression and patient resource utilization
• Resident experience with primary care transformation
• The association of urbanicity with infant sleep duration
• The Online Advocate: Health related social problems and children’s diet quality
• Healthy Habits, Happy Homes: Randomized trial to promote home routines for childhood obesity prevention 

Medical Education Training

Medical education is an important component of the clinical training program. Fellows receive didactic training through clinic seminars and hospital-wide curricula. In addition, fellows participate in precepting residents and medical students in primary care and subspecialty settings. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in a number of educational and curriculum development projects at the Harvard Medical School and in the Boston Combined Residency Program, the pediatric residency program based at the Children’s Hospital and Boston Medical Center.

Seminars

Fellows will participate in bi-monthly career-development seminars as well as monthly clinical lectures. They will also present their research ideas and progress on a regular basis to allow for feedback and mentorship.

Fellowship Seminars
Bi-monthly conferences on career-development topics such as mentorship, teaching, and time management. Several research topics will also be introduced on the subjects of research design and methodology as well as quality improvement. Fellows and faculty members will also present ongoing research projects.

Clinical and Community Pediatrics Lecture Series
Presentations of current issues in common primary care conditions, chronic illness, poverty and social disparities in health, environmental health, and advocacy.

Journal Club
Fellows and faculty meet regularly throughout the year to discuss articles relevant to clinical care and research.

Contact Us

Further information is available at the Division of General Pediatrics and by contacting Olivia Deverix Olivia.deverix@childrens.harvard.edu or Corinna Rea M.D., M.P.H. (617-355-4188)
Corinna.Rea@childrens.harvard.edu