Program Information

We offer a three-year fellowship training program in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The goals are to produce a physician who is knowledgeable about specialty and consultative care for children and adolescents with developmental-behavioral disorders and who has met the training requirements for certification by the Subboard of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics of the American Board of Pediatrics.

Full time and clinical faculty participate in and supervise the educational activities of the fellows including patient care.

Educational experiences encompass the content specifications for developmental-behavioral pediatrics as developed by the American Board of Pediatrics. The concept of comprehensive care within the context of the child or adolescent’s environment is stressed in all areas.

The goals of training are as follows: 

A.  Knowledge

1. By the end of the 3-year training period, the fellow will understand the major theories in behavioral/developmental pediatrics, including the following content areas: Developmental domains, epochs, theoretical frameworks (maturational, Piagetian, Eriksonian, Mahler/Bowlby, Kohlberg), biological, social and environmental influences on developmental outcomes, developmental and behavioral surveillance, screening and assessment, adaptation and developmental behavioral aspects of chronic health conditions, developmental behavioral disorders for 0-3, preschool, and school age children and adolescents, child abuse and neglect, sleep problems, sexuality, gender identity and orientation, atypical behaviors, and pertinent psychopharmacology involved in the practice of DB Pediatrics.
2. The fellow will be familiar with confounding and co-morbid factors that may influence the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
3. The fellow will know etiologies, prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of the broad range of developmental and behavioral disorders of childhood and adolescence.
4. The fellow will be familiar with protocol use, reliability and validity of the various techniques for developmental and behavioral diagnostic and screening assessments.
5. The fellow will display awareness of the practice management issues involved in the practice of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.
6. The fellow resident will have a firm knowledge base and understanding of the ethical and legal aspects of DB Pediatrics.
7. The fellow will be familiar with the major modalities of intervention for Developmental-Behavioral disorders (i.e. pharmacotherapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language therapy, psychotherapy, behavior management therapy, augmentative/adaptive communication, etc.) along with their associated risks.
8. By the end of the 3-year training period, the fellow will be familiar with controversial modalities of intervention (i.e., nutritional supplements, visual training, patterning, etc.) and their associated risk and research basis.
9. The fellow will have an understanding of consultation and liaison practices between developmental-behavioral disorders and other medical, neurological and psychiatric disorders.
10. The fellow will have a firm knowledge base and be able to apply research methods related to Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.
11. The fellow will understand ethical issues that affect medical care.

B.  Skills

1. The fellow will acquire competence in clinical diagnosis of developmental-behavioral disorders in children and adolescents, including parent, and child/adolescent interviewing and history taking, physical examination, and review of evaluation results.
2. The fellow will acquire competence in relating history, clinical findings and test interpretation to relevant medical, neurological, psychological, education, social issues associated developmental/behavioral with disorders and their treatments.
3. The fellow will be able to formulate a differential diagnosis for all potential conditions and disorders encountered in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.
4. The fellow will be able to diagnose medical and psychiatric disorders associated with developmental-behavioral conditions.
5. The fellow will be able to formulate comprehensive and appropriate treatment plans, including follow-up requirements and referrals.
6. The fellow will be able to provide developmental-behavioral pediatrics consultation in medical, educational, and community settings.
7. The fellow will be able to work with children and their families, and other members of the health care team with compassion, respect and professional integrity.
8. The fellow will be able to administer and interpret developmental and behavioral screening and assessment instruments.
9. The fellow will be able to interpret other related disciplines evaluations including psycho educational, neuropsychological, psychiatric, psychological, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language evaluation results.
10. The fellow will be able to critically evaluate the professional and scientific literature pertaining to Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.
11. The fellow will be able to teach trainees in the other related health professions on topics and issues in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics.
12. The fellow will be able to lecture to a broad range of audiences, including physicians, other health professionals, family members and policy makers.
13. The fellow will be able to implement a research project, including hypothesis formulation, methodology design, data collection/analysis and presentation of findings/conclusion.
14. The fellow will have an understanding of grant writing, project management and manuscript preparation and review.
15. The fellow will be able to lead and function as a member of an interdisciplinary health care team in hospital and community settings.
16. The fellow will have an understanding of personnel management, budget management, and program evaluation.

C.  ACGME Competencies

The program requires that the fellow obtain competencies in the 6 areas below to the level expected of a new practitioner:

1. Patient Care that is compassionate, appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health.
2. Medical Knowledge about established and evolving biomedical, clinical, and cognate (e.g. epidemiological and social-behavioral) sciences and the application of this knowledge to patient care.
3. Practice-Based Learning and Improvement that involves investigation and evaluation of their own patient care, appraisal and assimilation of scientific evidence and improvements in patient care.
4. Interpersonal and Communication Skills that result in effective information exchange and teaming with patients, their families, and other health professionals.
5. Professionalism, as manifested through a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to a diverse patient population.
6. Systems-Based Practice, as manifested by actions that demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care and the ability to effectively call on system resources to provide care that is of optimal value.