ABSTRACT
A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the Department of Defense practice of allowing some individuals with a history of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to enter military service (waiving for ADHD). Enlisted recruits who entered active duty with a waiver for academic problems related to ADHD were compared with control subjects who did not reveal health problems before entry, in terms of retention, promotion, and mental health-related outcomes. A total of 539 recruits with a history of ADHD were retained at the same rate as 1,617 control subjects, with no differences in promotion rates, comorbid diagnoses, or mental health-related discharges. On the basis of these findings, the Department of Defense medical accession standards have been changed to allow applicants who reveal a history of ADHD but did not require medication to finish high school or to hold a job for at least 1 year the opportunity to enter active duty without going through the current waiver process.
Subject(s)
Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/psychology , Military Personnel/psychology , Personnel Selection/standards , Adolescent , Adult , Female , Humans , Likelihood Functions , Linear Models , Male , Retrospective Studies , United StatesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The authors describe how one child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship program responded to emerging trends in clinical practice which increasingly demand that child and adolescent psychiatrists lead their colleagues through instruction and supervision. METHODS: Data from surveys of recent graduates of child and adolescent training programs were reviewed and the trends were identified. The authors describe the Academic Chief Fellow rotation, which was designed for the fellows to enhance their academic skills by teaching, guiding, and supervising their junior colleagues. RESULTS: The authors describe the implementation of the new rotation and discuss the fellows' response. They also detail the responses of the medical students and residents who rotated on the child and adolescent psychiatry service under the Academic Chief Fellow. CONCLUSION: Greater experience in teaching and supervising others can be meaningfully integrated into existing child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship curricula. Other outcomes may include greater medical student and general psychiatry resident satisfaction with their child and adolescent psychiatry rotation and greater interest among medical students in child and adolescent psychiatry as a career.