The Future of Pediatric Education

An imbalance in favor of service has become exacerbated by many factors, including the increased number of shortstay hospitalizations; the time pressure on ambulatory visits; the greater proportion of hospital beds devoted to intensive and specialized care units; private and public reimbursement policies that negatively affect the finances of hospitals, private practitioners, and faculty practice plans; the increased number of uninsured patients; the high cost of continuing technologic advances; the increased time residents spend entering administrative data into computer systems; demographic changes in the population and the physician workforce; and market-driven changes in the organization of health care in the United States. [...] are at least 4 major pedagogical issues for pediatric residency training: (1) addressing information overload; (2) integrating an understanding of system physiology with cellular and molecular biology in the developing human, which includes an appreciation of the way in which environmental factors interact in children and youth; (3) focusing on patient individuality and the nature of caring for ill children and maintaining their health within the context of diverse cultures within which there are significant health disparities; and (4) reinforcing basic professional values.