• Adharsh Ponnapakkam, Jeanne Krick, Hannah Brink, Elizabeth Koslow, Ronald Cervero, and Paolo C Martin.
• Department of Pediatrics, Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX 78234, USA.
• Mil Med. 2024 Jun 19.

IntroductionCompetence in neonatal care is especially important for military pediatricians because military pediatricians can be asked to serve in remote duty locations with limited resources. We sought to understand how this competence is defined, developed, and assessed by military pediatric training programs.Materials And MethodsAfter Institutional Review Board approval was obtained, we interviewed educators and recent graduates from every pediatric military training program to construct a shared definition of competence. We then used Kern's Six Steps for curriculum development to understand how competence is taught and assessed.ResultsParticipants felt that competence for military pediatricians in the neonatal setting meant that learners should be able to provide a full spectrum of newborn care in any military setting. Participants confirmed that this competence was particularly important for military pediatricians because of the possibility of remote duty locations. Participants felt that specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes supported competence. Knowledge domains include distinguishing normal newborns from abnormal newborns, managing normal newborn care, managing common newborn abnormalities, and creating a safe escalation plan for complicated or uncommon newborn abnormalities. Specific skills that support competence are newborn resuscitation, delivery of effective ventilation, and neonatal circumcision. Specific attitudes that support competence are, understanding the personal limits of knowledge and understanding the resources for escalation of care. Educators use a variety of modalities to teach toward competence, including the structured curricula, bedside teaching, and simulation. According to participants, the assessment of learners occurs primarily through narrative assessment and feedback but would ideally occur through direct observation.ConclusionsCompetence in the neonatal setting is particularly important for military pediatricians. Essential skills undergo differential assessment and current assessment methods differ from ideal assessment methods. Future work should focus on how these facets can support a unified curriculum in newborn medicine.Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2024. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

8 keywords...

hide…