Name of Program:

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Fellowship Program

Program Director:

Steven J. Parker, MD

Contact Person:

Kari Hironaka, MD
72 East Concord Street, Vose Hall 403, Boston, MA 02118
Phone: 617-414-7941
FAX: 617-414-7915

Faculty:

Marilyn Augustyn, MD
Elizabeth Caronna, MD
Edward De Vos
Ed.D.Betsy Groves, MSW
Deborah Frank, MD
Kari Hironaka, MD
Margot Kaplan-Sanoff, EdD.
Steven Parker, MD
Laura Sices, MD
Maria Trozzi, M.Ed.
Barry Zuckerman, MD

Number of Fellows:

3

MCHB Funding Years:

16

RRC Accreditation Year:

2005

Program Goals:

1. Clinical Training

Clinical excellence is the cornerstone of our training program. Our fellows are thoroughly trained to assess children's development, behavior, temperament, and parent-child interaction from infancy through adolescence. Competence is gained in such clinical areas as developmental disabilities, language delays, temper tantrums, sleep problems, enuresis, encopresis, failure to thrive, child abuse, prenatal drug exposure, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, specific learning disabilities, preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental disorders, etc.

Emphasis is placed on using the assessment process itself as an intervention. Our fellows work closely with professionals from multiple disciplines including physical therapy, child psychiatry and psychology, pediatric neurology, early childhood educators, and social workers. By the end of training, our fellows are prepared to start and/or run a clinic of his/her own in a variety of clinical areas.

2. Research Training

The Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Boston Medical Center is an academically productive one. Research interests of the faculty include maternal depression, failure to thrive, health and psychosocial factors during pregnancy, developmental screening in primary care, neonatal behavior, the impact of prenatal cocaine exposure, the grief response in children, the effects of chronic disease on children's development, sleep problems, impact of illness on development and behavior, the effects of witnessing violence on young children, and interventions to enhance the parent-child relationship.

During the fellowship, our fellows either conceptualize and conduct their own research project or collaborate in an ongoing research project. To foster this goal, our fellows take a class in epidemiology and biostatistics at the Boston University School of Public Health, as well as a class in research methodology. Each is assigned a research mentor to help with their project. Our goal is to provide training and experience to allow the fellow to further the field through scholarly research. By the end of the training it is expected that the fellow will have written up the research findings and submitted the results to a peer-reviewed journal. Each fellow also has an individual Scholarship Oversight Committee (SOC).

3. Theoretical foundations of developmental-behavioral pediatrics

It is an explicit goal of the fellowship to provide adequate time for reading and the promotion of intellectual pursuits. A formal literature seminar occurs weekly. This seminar focuses on important historical and current articles in the field, with a discussion of their clinical and theoretical implications. Additionally, the fellows are provided literature about clinical problems as they arise.

4. Becoming an effective teacher

The fellows are given ample opportunity to teach residents, medical students, and child care providers (at early intervention centers, day care centers, parent groups) during the fellowship. In the third year, the fellow gives a talk at our yearly continuing education course to pediatric primary care providers.

Special Features:

The Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics is a subspecialty division of Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine. With ongoing support and funding from the Maternal Child Health Bureau (MCHB) (one of ten in the country), we offer a three-year fellowship program for pediatricians in the field of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. We are a fully ACGME certified training program in DBP.

(A specialized four year fellowship with an emphasis on academic research is available for interested candidates. Please contact us if you might be interested in this specialized DBP research fellowship).

The key training sites for our program are at Boston Medical Center and Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Additional sites are utilized (such as the Boston Public Schools, neighborhood health centers, community-based day care and early intervention programs) to assure that our fellows are exposed to a wide range of developmental and behavioral problems in all socioeconomic strata. Finally, the program offers a special focus on the psychosocial, health, developmental and advocacy needs of families living in poverty.