528 - Implementing a Global Health Track within a Pediatric Emergency Fellowship

Poster Number: 528
Publication Number: 528.318

Roshni Patel, Northwell, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY, United States; Ashley T. Serrette, RWJBH Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, Orange, NJ, United States; Anita Pillai, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Ronak A. Patel, Cohen Children's Medical Center/Northwell Health, Queens, NY, United States

Background: Reducing childhood mortality is a key element of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Worldwide, more than half of early childhood deaths could be prevented with simple interventions and appropriate care from trained providers. There is little pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) care in low to middle income countries (LMICs). The AAP calls for global health training of all pediatricians with standardized curricula but many training programs lack a formal track, faculty and partnerships to meet these guidelines.

Objective: Our objective was to implement a global health track (GHT) within the PEM fellowship at our academic teaching hospital. By adding a formalized curriculum, fellows would learn fundamental global health principles relevant to providing PEM in LMICs that are consistent with the ACGME core competencies focusing on patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning, and communication skills.

Design/Methods: PEM fellows and faculty interested in global health drafted a three year curriculum. First year fellows focused on building a foundation in knowledge by online modules, domestic bootcamps and point of care ultrasound, a useful skill in LMICs. Second year fellows further developed and refined these clinical skills by attending international conferences in addition to embarking on their own experiential learning through travel to international partner sites. Third year fellows continued to demonstrate leadership by expanding the GHT and completing their scholarly project. GHT fellows were responsible for integrating global health lectures into the PEM academic conferences to introduce core concepts to the fellowship program, at large.

Results: While the COVID-19 pandemic affected travel abroad, two fellows were able to successfully complete the GHT with creative hybrid learning. Both domestic and international conferences were virtually attended. Due to travel restrictions, our current fellow will focus on a domestic site visit. Global health topics presented at the PEM academic conference included maternal/child health, outbreak response, sanitation, refugee health, and the impact of mega cities on public health. All lectures received positive feedback from attendees based on anonymous surveys.Conclusion(s): Creating a formalized GHT within a PEM fellowship allows fellows to explore this field with structured training and hands-on experiences to further develop their clinical expertise within the subspecialty. Continued development of the track along with scholarly activities, will help future fellows acquire a balanced global health foundation.
Roshni Patel CVPatel_CV.pdf