Search

Objective: Despite longstanding and recurrent calls for effective implicit bias (IB) education in health professions education as one mechanism to reduce ongoing racism and health disparities, such curricula for neonatal-perinatal medicine (NPM) are limited. We aim to determine the key curricular elements for educating NPM fellows, advanced practice providers, and attending physicians in the critical topics of IB and health disparities., Study Design: A modified Delphi study was performed with content experts in IB and health disparities who had educational relationships to those working and training in the neonatal intensive care unit., Result: Three Delphi rounds were conducted from May to November 2021. Experts reached consensus on a variety of items for inclusion in the curriculum, including educational goals, learning objectives, teaching strategies, and educator principles., Conclusion: Essential curricular components of an IB and health disparities curriculum for neonatal medicine were defined using rigorous consensus building methodology., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

Neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows must achieve a meaningful accomplishment in scholarly activity as part of their training. Despite the requirement for scholarly training in fellowship, there is a vanishingly small number of MD-only physician-scientists pursuing a research-oriented career. Recent neonatal trainees have identified several factors that preclude their careers in research-focused academic neonatology, including lower pay in academic positions, inadequate training in research techniques, and the perception that individuals in research careers have a poor work-life balance. High competition for limited pediatric research funds also contributes to a diminishing pool of physician-scientists in neonatology. This small number of physician-scientists is threatened by a high rate of attrition among physicians who enter this career path. In order to prevent further declines in the number of neonatal physician-scientists, we need improvements in funding and strong intra- and cross-institutional mentorship to foster individuals interested in a career as a physician-scientist., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. part of Springer Nature.)