Abstract
Objective
The authors explore the advantages and disadvantages of 5-year integrated child and adolescent psychiatry tracks from the perspective of program directors.
Methods
The authors surveyed via email the program directors of the 134 child and adolescent psychiatry training programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in the USA on their experiences with and perceptions of a formal child track.
Results
The authors received 79 responses (60% response rate), including 13 (16%) with a child track, an increase from 7 programs in a survey completed 13 years ago. Of programs with a child track, a majority were created within the last 5 years. Out of an average postgraduate year 1 class size of nine, the most common child track size was two positions per year. Benefits cited for child tracks included improved recruitment, longitudinal retention, potential flexibility, scholarly productivity, and clinical benefits such as the foundation of a developmental perspective and improved integration of pediatrics and mental health. Of programs that do not have a track, more than half were strongly or very strongly considering one.
Conclusions
Child tracks have potential benefits for individual trainees, general psychiatry residency programs, and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowships. Additionally, long-term benefits to child mental health workforce recruitment and expansion are likely. The number of programs offering a child track has risen significantly over the last decade since the field was last surveyed, and this trend is likely to continue over the next decade.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge Sandra B. Sexson, M.D., Christopher R. Thomas, M.D., Kayla Pope, M.D., J.D. for their consultation and contributions, and Lovejit Kaur, MD for her assistance with our IRB application.
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This study was approved by the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine Institutional Review Board.
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Sengupta, S., Jacobson, S. & Williamson, E. Straight on Through: the Current State of Child Tracks in Psychiatry Residency. Acad Psychiatry 46, 65–69 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-019-01151-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40596-019-01151-6