GRANTEE SPOTLIGHT

New Jersey American Academy of Pediatrics

Preparing the next generation of NJ pediatricians to promote early childhood development

Many parents look to their pediatricians for advice on how to ensure their children are meeting milestones for healthy development. In fact, after the model set by their own parents, medical professionals – including pediatricians – are the second most looked-to resource for parents seeking advice, information, or guidance. However, a recent survey reveals that a majority of graduating pediatric residents do not feel adequately equipped to advise parents on ways to promote early childhood development.

As part of our work to transform birth to early childhood systems in New Jersey, the Burke Foundation partnered with the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (NJAAP) to provide two years of funding to implement an early childhood curriculum for pediatric residents in all nine of New Jersey’s pediatric residency programs. The New Jersey Pediatric Residency Advocacy Collaborative (NJPRAC) will facilitate the program’s piloting and statewide roll-out as part of its ongoing advocacy, training, and educational outreach activities.

The curriculum, created by the Mt. Sinai Parenting Center, addresses developmental keystones such as secure attachment, autonomy, self-regulation, perspective taking, problem solving, and academic knowledge. It will target changes in residents’ knowledge, confidence, and counseling behaviors that promote positive parenting practices in a well-child visit.

The program will include curricular modules focused on six developmental keystones of early childhood, as well as a complementary lecture series for residents and program directors featuring nationally renowned experts on early childhood development. Implementation of the curriculum will begin in 2020 through two pilot sites at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Pediatric Residency Program in Newark, with plans to reach remaining residency programs in the state by 2021.

76% of graduating pediatric residents felt unprepared to advise parents on ways to promote early childhood development.

Each pediatric resident who benefits from this curriculum has the ability to influence the primary care of more than 1,500 children each year, which translates to a total of nearly 200,000 children each year across the state

Preliminary data has shown a statistically significant changes in resident’s knowledge, confidence, and self-reported behaviors, and the curriculum has been widely praised by participants and faculty.