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Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics David Meryash, MD
The fellowship program in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics is designed to span three years. However, appointments are made on a yearly basis, renewal contingent upon satisfactory performance and continued demonstration of promise of success in the field. By the end of three years, the fellow should have strong clinical and teaching skills, will have the ability to design and carry out scholarly investigations in developmental and behavioral pediatrics, and will have an understanding of the administrative demands of conducting a practice in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Ours is a busy unit. The Division has four full-time and one part time physician faculty. All five are board certified in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities and are also eligible for certification in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Two nurse practitioners work with the faculty and fellows in providing care to our patients. Because of ever increasing volume, we anticipate our faculty complement to grow over the next five years. Clinical Experience Under the direct supervision of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatricians, fellows spend approximately 25 hours per week in direct patient care in an office practice or clinic setting. One half day is devoted to education sessions. The remainder of the time is not scheduled, to allow for non-direct patient care activities, administrative duties, and academic development. About half of the visits are new patient evaluations and half are follow-up visits. The most common diagnoses/concerns are ADHD/possible ADHD, learning problems, speech and language delay, autistic spectrum disorders, prematurity/infant follow-up. Clinical activities include several highlighted areas of focus: ADHD Program
Teaching Fellows are expected to share the responsibility with the faculty for assuring that the residents have a strong learning experience. The senior-most fellow is designated as the "Teaching Fellow." She/he assists the training director in arranging the weekly schedules for residents on the Development and Behavioral rotation, in scheduling didactic sessions, and in evaluating residents' performance. Fellows are responsible for conducting didactic sessions with residents on Friday mornings at 9:15; they present lecture/discussions on core topics in developmental pediatrics. When a certain level of comfort is attained, fellows will mentor residents and medical students in developmental clinics. Each Friday morning from 10:15 to 11:00 is devoted to case discussion, journal review, or outside speakers. All fellows (and attendings) are expected to attend/participate. Fellows are free to attend the Department of Pediatric Grand Rounds at 11:00 a.m. on Fridays. Elective/Selective Time Each fellow will have two months of elective/selective time per year. To enhance the trainees experience the trainee will be able to spend time in other hospital departments and off-campus sites which serve children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. During these moths the fellows will continue to have Division responsibilities but scheduled commitments in the Division will be reduced. Academic Development By February of the first year of training each fellow will determine an aspect of developmental and behavioral pediatrics in which she/he wished to acquire special expertise. An area of concentration could be, for example, a specific developmental disorder or group of disorders (e.g. ADHD, Learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, Down Syndrome) or general specific topic area (e.g. psychopharmacology, common behavior problems in children, sleep disorders, behavior rating scales, developmental testing). Once such an area is chosen, it will form the basis for three avenues of growth: development of clinical expertise, teaching and research. Supervision/Mentoring Fellows will be supervised clinically by each attending. Each fellow will also be paired with a specific faculty mentor. The mentor will serve as the fellow's primary advisor to monitor development of clinical skills, as a source of general support, and as an advisor for career development. The mentor will meet with the fellow on a regular basis. Basic Requirement for Applying Candidates should have completed a three-year residency in pediatrics before beginning the fellowship and should be board certified or eligible to take the certification examination in general pediatrics. Fluency in speaking and writing English is essential. Working knowledge of demonstrated exemplary performance during their residencies, including particularly strong communication skills and who have demonstration sensitivity in challenging patient management situation. For more information or to request and application contact the Program Director, David L. Meryash, MD via email at Meryash@lij.edu. |