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Developmental Behavorial Pediatrics

Education

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Training Program

The Yale Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Training Program (DBP) is funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The goal is to enhance behavioral, psychosocial, and developmental aspects of general pediatric care. Our Program addresses a growing need for leaders in DBP to produce quality research, to teach and serve as role models to practitioners, fellows, residents, medical students, and other health professionals, and to inform policy related to developmental and behavioral issues affecting children and families. Since 1986, the Yale DBP Program has trained 13 Fellows. Many of the graduates have assumed leadership roles in DBP training, public health, and care within the United States and abroad.

Goals & Objectives

GOAL 1: To train Fellows to be skilled clinicians in the evaluation, care, and treatment of children with a broad range of developmental and behavioral concerns, problems, and disorders.

Objective 1: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will achieve a high level of expertise in DBP to allow the Fellow to function as a skilled subspecialist.

Objective 2: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will acquire the skills to incorporate DBP into the practice of clinical pediatrics sufficient to allow the Fellow to teach such skills to general pediatricians.

Objective 3: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will become skilled in working as a contributing member of a multidisciplinary team and knowledgeable of the activities, perspectives, and unique contributions of staff in related disciplines

GOAL 2: To train Fellows to be effective teachers of a comprehensive approach to pediatric care.

Objective 1: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will acquire the skills to incorporate DBP into the practice of clinical pediatrics sufficient to allow the Fellow to teach such skills to general pediatricians.

Objective 2: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will demonstrate expertise as a teacher of DBP sufficient to assume a faculty position at the level of an assistant professor.

GOAL 3: To train Fellows to become skilled and effective child health researchers.

Objective 1: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will have completed an individual research project in the field of DBP, including preparation of a manuscript for publication and an abstract for presentation at a national research meeting.

GOAL 4: To train Fellows to become sensitive and skilled child advocates regarding the public health and social policy dimensions of developmental and behavioral issues affecting children and families.

Objective 1: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will be able to identify and describe ways in which the results of research might be applied appropriately to improve or initiate policies and social programs to benefit children.

Objective 2: At the completion of the program, the Fellow will have the knowledge to be able to serve as a physician on a multidisciplinary, collaborative local agency and to provide consultation to community agencies.

Objective 3: Activities/Methodology undertaken to meet project goals: Fellows will be trained within a three-year program by a multidisciplinary faculty.

Program Elements

1. A broad range of clinical training sites, many of which involve interdisciplinary teams, located within the DBP Subsection, the Yale Child Study Center, the inpatient and outpatient units of Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital, and community sites.

2. On-site and off-site clinical supervision provided individually and in groups (including utilizing Collaborative Office Rounds) provided by faculty of many disciplines (e.g., DBP, child and adolescent psychiatry, psychology, nursing, social work, etc.).

3. Didactic coursework and seminars, especially within the DBP Program, the Yale Child Study Center, and the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program.

4. Extensive public health, policy, leadership, and advocacy training.

5. Training in cultural sensitivity, especially through education and mentorship provided by a visiting faculty member from the University of Connecticut with expertise in this area and through direct involvement within an innovative program in the Department of Pediatrics.

6. Research training involving coursework (especially the Methods of Clinical Research Course provided by the Clinical Scholars Program), participation in an ongoing research project of one of the faculty, and through the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of an independent research project.

Coordination

The Core Faculty in the Program has active relationships with Title V/MCH programs in CT and will involve the Fellows in related didactic and experiential training. The directors of pediatric residency training in all the programs within CT have agreed to enhance their ongoing collaborative efforts to pool resources for medical student, residency, and continuing medical education training in DBP and quality improvement activities for DBP clinical services offered at each of the sites.

Evaluation

Monitoring for acquisition of assessment, intervention, teaching, and research skills is accomplished predominantly through clinical supervision, including on-site direct observation, on-site clinical supervision predominantly through case presentation, off-site clinical supervision, group supervision (e.g., Collaborative Office Rounds), and through faculty observations of teaching and research presentations.

Developmental Behavior Pediatrics Rotation Evaluation form

Application Process

Two fellows are selected for a three-year fellowship. For more information and an application, please contact Carol Weitzman, M.D., F.A.A.P., Director of the DBP Training Program, at Carol.Weitzman@yale.edu