493 - Physician Perspectives on the Pediatric Hospital Medicine Board Certification Process

Saturday, April 29, 2023

3:30 PM – 6:00 PM ET

Poster Number: 493
Publication Number: 493.221

Gabrielle R. Fisher, University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States; Thomas Mike, Akron Children's Hospital, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, United States; Richard Vo, Campbell County Memorial Hospital, Gillette, WY, United States; H. Barrett Fromme, University of Chicago Division of the Biological Sciences The Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States; Behnoosh Afghani, University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine, Orange, CA, United States

Presenting Author(s)

Thomas Mike, MD

Pediatric Hospitalist
Akron Children's Hospital
Akron Children's Hospital
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, United States

Background: Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) was officially recognized as a pediatric subspecialty in 2016. Initially, physicians could qualify to take the certifying exam after completing a PHM fellowship or by way of a practice pathway which closed to graduating residents in 2020. There has been a paucity of research to assess the attitudes of the PHM community toward the board eligibility requirements. We present here the results of a survey distributed to the PHM community regarding the board certification process and requirements.

Objective: To characterize the PHM community’s views on the board certification process and assess the effect of the board eligibility requirements on residents’ desires to pursue PHM.

Design/Methods:
An anonymous Redcap survey, utilizing branching logic, multiple-choice questions, and free-text responses, was created to assess respondents’ views on the PHM board certification process. The survey was distributed in May 2022 to the American Academy of Pediatrics' PHM listserv as well as each residency program director in the United States asking them to distribute the survey to their trainees.

Thematic analysis was performed on the free-text responses by two reviewers using inductive reasoning. Comments were assigned codes and grouped into themes independently by each reviewer; disagreements in assigned codes were discussed and resolved.

Results:
A total of 1313 responses were obtained and analyzed, including 797 attending physicians and 516 residents. Of the attending physician respondents, 73% reported concerns about the board eligibility requirements, with the most frequently cited concern being that the current system creates uncertainty in the lives of physicians. No clear trend emerged when stratifying by the number of years in practice. The most commonly proposed solution was to extend the practice pathway.

Among the resident physician respondents, 70% reported that the board certification requirements deterred them from pursuing a career in PHM, with the most frequently cited concern being that the barriers to fellowship outweigh the benefits. The most commonly proposed solution was to revert to the system that was in place before certification existed.

Conclusion(s): The PHM board certification process continues to be a cause of concern for the majority of the respondents. The certification eligibility requirements may cause a negative effect on our ability to recruit residents into the field.