TY - JOUR
T1 - Building Capacity in Pediatric Environmental Health
T2 - The Academic Pediatric Association's Professional Development Program
AU - Landrigan, Philip J.
AU - Braun, Joseph M.
AU - Crain, Ellen F.
AU - Forman, Joel
AU - Galvez, Maida
AU - Gitterman, Benjamin A.
AU - Halevi, Gali
AU - Karr, Catherine
AU - Mall, Jennifer Kathleen
AU - Paulson, Jerome A.
AU - Woolf, Alan D.
AU - Lanphear, Bruce P.
AU - Wright, Robert O.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge support from National Institutes of Health grants T32 HD049311 and R13 ES027769.
Funding Information:
Program directors are aware of and concerned about this issue. They recognize that both pediatricians and health scientists are important for the continuing growth of PEH and that their differing backgrounds and perspectives can create highly productive synergies. Some program directors are seeking mechanisms to address this imbalance. In New York, for example, multiyear support has recently been awarded to 7 academic health centers to create a state-funded network of centers of excellence in PEH that will extend the national PEHSU network 25 ; this network includes funding to support training of pediatricians in PEH. The Environmental Protection Agency has also recently supported PEH clinical fellowship training opportunities, 2years in duration; in 2017, the Agency funded 2 physician trainees.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Academic Pediatric Association
PY - 2019/5/1
Y1 - 2019/5/1
N2 - Background: Environmental exposures contribute to multiple diseases in children; yet, few pediatricians have training in pediatric environmental health (PEH), and few academic health centers have PEH expertise. To build national capacity in PEH, the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) launched a professional development program that since 2002 has encouraged the establishment of post-residency/post-doctoral training programs, supported a special interest group, and convened an annual mentored retreat for PEH trainees. Objective: Describe the APA's professional development program in PEH and assess its impact by tracking careers of former trainees. Methods: Careers were tracked through interviews with trainees and program directors supplemented by searches of institutional websites. Publication listings were obtained through PubMed. Publication impact was assessed using bibliometric and altmetric measures. Grant histories were accessed through the National Institutes of Health RePORTER project. Information on advocacy work was obtained through interviews with program directors. Results: Fifty-five trainees (36 physicians and 19 health scientists) completed PEH training and attended the APA retreat between 2002 and 2017. Forty-one (75%) are pursuing academic careers, 11 are associate or full professors, 11 are practicing general pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty, 2 are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologists, and 1 is a data scientist. Forty-two former trainees (76%) listed “environment” or “environmental” in their job titles or on their websites. Former trainees have published 632 scientific papers. These papers have been cited 3094times, have a relative citation ratio of 2.97, and have been read or viewed 1,274,388times. Twenty-one former trainees have been awarded 43 National Institutes of Health grants. Trainees have developed education and advocacy skills by teaching medical students and residents, presenting grand rounds, preparing policy papers, presenting legislative testimony, and making presentations to public audiences. Conclusions: The APA's professional development program has contributed to the expansion of national capacity in PEH. Former trainees are populating the field, generating new knowledge, and moving into leadership positions.
AB - Background: Environmental exposures contribute to multiple diseases in children; yet, few pediatricians have training in pediatric environmental health (PEH), and few academic health centers have PEH expertise. To build national capacity in PEH, the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) launched a professional development program that since 2002 has encouraged the establishment of post-residency/post-doctoral training programs, supported a special interest group, and convened an annual mentored retreat for PEH trainees. Objective: Describe the APA's professional development program in PEH and assess its impact by tracking careers of former trainees. Methods: Careers were tracked through interviews with trainees and program directors supplemented by searches of institutional websites. Publication listings were obtained through PubMed. Publication impact was assessed using bibliometric and altmetric measures. Grant histories were accessed through the National Institutes of Health RePORTER project. Information on advocacy work was obtained through interviews with program directors. Results: Fifty-five trainees (36 physicians and 19 health scientists) completed PEH training and attended the APA retreat between 2002 and 2017. Forty-one (75%) are pursuing academic careers, 11 are associate or full professors, 11 are practicing general pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty, 2 are Centers for Disease Control and Prevention epidemiologists, and 1 is a data scientist. Forty-two former trainees (76%) listed “environment” or “environmental” in their job titles or on their websites. Former trainees have published 632 scientific papers. These papers have been cited 3094times, have a relative citation ratio of 2.97, and have been read or viewed 1,274,388times. Twenty-one former trainees have been awarded 43 National Institutes of Health grants. Trainees have developed education and advocacy skills by teaching medical students and residents, presenting grand rounds, preparing policy papers, presenting legislative testimony, and making presentations to public audiences. Conclusions: The APA's professional development program has contributed to the expansion of national capacity in PEH. Former trainees are populating the field, generating new knowledge, and moving into leadership positions.
KW - children's environmental health
KW - medical education
KW - pediatric careers
KW - research training
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85064317159&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.acap.2019.01.001
DO - 10.1016/j.acap.2019.01.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 30639371
AN - SCOPUS:85064317159
SN - 1876-2859
VL - 19
SP - 421
EP - 427
JO - Academic Pediatrics
JF - Academic Pediatrics
IS - 4
ER -