Global Health Opportunities in Pediatric Fellowships.

BACKGROUND: Interest in global health (GH) among pediatric residents continues to grow. GH opportunities in pediatric fellowship programs in the United States are poorly described. We aimed to evaluate GH offerings among accredited general and subspecialty pediatric fellowship programs and identify implementation barriers. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study by pediatric GH educators from the Association of Pediatric Program Directors Global Health Learning Community and the American Board of Pediatrics Global Health Task Force. Fellowship program directors and GH educators at accredited US pediatric fellowship programs were surveyed. Data were analyzed by using descriptive and comparative statistics. RESULTS: Data were obtained from 473 of 819 (57.8%) fellowship programs, representing 111 institutions. Nearly half (47.4%) offered GH opportunities as GH electives only (44.2%) or GH tracks and/or fellowships (3.2%) (GHT/Fs). Pretravel preparation and supervision were variable. Programs offering GH opportunities, compared to those without, were more likely to report that GH training improves fellow education (81.9% vs 38.3%; P < .001) and recruitment (76.8% vs 35.9%; P < .001). Since 2005, 10 programs with GHT/Fs have graduated 46 fellows, most of whom are working in GH. Of those with GHT/Fs, 71% believe national accreditation of GH fellowships would define minimum programmatic standards; 64% believe it would improve recruitment and legitimize GH as a subspecialty. CONCLUSIONS: GH experiences are prevalent in accredited US pediatric fellowship programs, and programs offering GH perceive that these opportunities improve fellow education and recruitment. Responses suggest that standards for GH opportunities during fellowship would be useful, particularly regarding pretravel preparation and mentorship for trainees.

Keratomalacia in a Patient With Psychogenic Vitamin A Deficiency.

PURPOSE: To report the clinical and histopathological findings of a patient with bilateral keratomalacia arising from severe vitamin A deficiency from panic disorder-related malnutrition. METHODS: Case report. RESULTS: A 47-year-old male with panic disorder presented with 1 month of painful vision loss sequentially affecting the right and left eyes. He exhibited bilateral conjunctival xerosis with complete corneal melt in the right eye and a large corneal epithelial defect with underlying anterior chamber inflammation in the left eye. Laboratory investigation revealed undetectable serum vitamin A levels attributed to self-induced vomiting and starvation. He was treated with high-dose vitamin A, but the right eye required enucleation. The histological findings are reported. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin A deficiency in the absence of organic gastrointestinal abnormalities is exceedingly rare in the developed world. A strong index of suspicion and thorough review of systems are invaluable in evaluating patients with unexplained corneal melt.

Defining the roles of advisors and mentors in postgraduate medical education: faculty perceptions, roles, responsibilities, and resource needs.

BACKGROUND: Residency program directors rely on an informal network of faculty mentors to provide guidance for residents. Faced with increasingly sophisticated competency-based evaluation systems and scrutiny of patient safety and resident well-being in today's environment, residency programs need more structured mechanisms for mentoring. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the role of resident advisors and mentors so that residents receive the right combination of direction and oversight to ensure their successful transition to the next phase of their careers. METHODS: The Duke Internal Medicine Residency Program undertook a formal assessment of the roles, responsibilities, and resource needs of its key faculty through a focus group made up of key faculty. A follow-up focus group of residents and chief residents was held to validate the results of the faculty group assessment. RESULTS: The distinction between advising and mentoring was our important discovery and is supported by literature that identifies that mentors and advisors differ in multiple ways. A mentor is often selected to match resources and expertise with a resident's needs or professional interests. An advisor is assigned with a role to counsel and guide the resident through the residency processes, procedures, and key learning milestones. CONCLUSION: The difference between the role of advisor and that of mentor is of critical importance and allowed for the evolution of faculty participants' role as resident advisors, including the formulation of expectations for advisors, and the creation of an advisor toolkit. Our modifiable toolkit can enhance the advising process for residents in many disciplines. We saw an improvement in resident satisfaction from 2006 to 2009.