The Impact of COVID-19 on Pediatric Telepsychiatry Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowships.

OBJECTIVE: This report summarizes findings from a 2020 survey of US child and adolescent psychiatry training programs that explored the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pediatric telepsychiatry training. The authors hypothesized that telepsychiatry training significantly increased during the pandemic, in part due to legal and regulatory waivers during the COVID-19 public health emergency. METHODS: In August 2020, an anonymous, 28-question online survey was emailed to all (138) accredited child psychiatry fellowships on the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education website. Forty-nine programs responded (36%). This analysis focuses on three of the 28 questions relevant to the hypotheses: characteristics of the program's training in telepsychiatry; perceived impediments to clinical training; and perceived impediments to didactic training pre-COVID onset vs. post-COVID onset, respectively. Total scores were created to investigate differences in training programs and impediments to including telepsychiatry pre- and post-COVID onset. Paired sample t-tests were used to compare means pre- and post-COVID onset. RESULTS: Results provided support for significant differences between training components related to telepsychiatry pre- and post-COVID onset, with participants reporting more training components post-COVID onset (M = 5.69) than pre-COVID onset (M = 1.80); t(48) = 9.33, p < .001. Participants also reported significantly fewer barriers to providing clinical experiences in pediatric telepsychiatry post-COVID onset (M = 2.65) than pre-COVID onset (M = 4.90); t(48) = - 4.20, p < .001. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric telepsychiatry training in child psychiatry fellowships increased significantly. Perceived barriers to providing clinical, but not didactic, training decreased significantly.

A National Pediatric Telepsychiatry Curriculum for Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education.

Objectives: Our goal was to develop an open access nationally disseminated online curriculum for use in graduate and continuing medical education on the topic of pediatric telepsychiatry to enhance the uptake of telepsychiatry among child psychiatry training programs and improve access to mental health care for youth and families. Methods: Following Kern's 6-stage model of curriculum development, we identified a core problem, conducted a needs assessment, developed broad goals and measurable objectives in a competency-based model, and developed educational content and methods. The curriculum was reviewed by experts and feedback incorporated. Given the urgent need for such a curriculum due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the curriculum was immediately posted on the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training websites. Further evaluation will be conducted over the next year. Results: The curriculum covers the six areas of core competence adapted for pediatric telepsychiatry and includes teaching content and resources, evaluation tools, and information about other resources. Conclusion: This online curriculum is available online and provides an important resource and set of standards for pediatric telepsychiatry training. Its online format allows for ongoing revision as the telepsychiatry landscape changes.

Training Psychiatrists to Achieve Mental Health Equity.

This article highlights the history of the psychiatric training practices that have contributed to inequity in mental health service delivery, particularly to underserved populations. It discusses current training practices that may be effective at reducing such disparities, suggests policy recommendations to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in health services, and makes recommendations for the further development and implementation of training practices that address health inequity. The article reviews issues in both general psychiatry and child/adolescent training in addition to lifelong learning needs.

Addictions Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowships.

OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this article is to identify current gaps in adolescent addictions training in order to develop a strategic plan to enhance clinical and didactic curricula for child and adolescent psychiatry fellowships. METHODS: The American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT) Taskforce on Addictions was assembled in 2017 and consisted of 10 AADPRT members and 4 consultants to the committee with known experience in addictions treatment and training. A 21-item survey was developed and disseminated to all AADPRT members who were Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist (CAP) fellowship directors using the AADPRT Listserv (n = 109). Data were exported from the SurveyMonkey platform to provide deidentified responses to each question. RESULTS: Forty-seven programs (43%) responded to the survey. In supervision and education, 40.43% of programs denied making use of expertise from Addiction Psychiatry Fellows, faculty, and resources. Common reasons for not offering specific teaching and clinical exposure include a limited number of faculty/staff, limited number of faculty/staff with expertise, and insufficient clinical sites. Curriculum content and teaching exposure varied substantially between programs. CONCLUSION: While a lack of services in adolescent addictions may be a limiting factor, developing expertise through faculty development activities, as well as nationally disseminated model curricula with educational resources has the potential to improve national adolescent addictions training.