Over the past four decades, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve training in behavioral and mental health care for pediatric trainees. In 1978, the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Pediatric Education published a report entitled “The Future of Pediatric Education” (American Academy of Pediatrics. Task Force on Pediatric Education. The future of pediatric education. American Academy of Pediatrics, Evanston, 1978), which emphasized the need to enhance residency training in behavioral, developmental, and adolescent issues to ensure pediatricians in the United States would be prepared to meet the growing needs of youth in these areas. This was the first formal call to enhance training in Behavioral and Mental Health (BMH) for future pediatricians. In 1990, the ACGME established new requirements for pediatric residency training that included a requirement for “evidence of structured educational experiences in adolescent medicine, child development, child psychology, and the care of the handicapped child” (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME program requirements for graduate medical education in pediatrics, background and archives. Available at: https://www.acgme.org/programs-and-institutions/programs/common-program-requirements/background-and-archives/ ), followed by the addition of a required rotation in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) in 1997 (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME program requirements for graduate medical education in pediatrics, background and archives. Available at: https://www.acgme.org/programs-and-institutions/programs/common-program-requirements/background-and-archives/ ). In 2000, Johnson et al. published the Final Report of the Future of Pediatric Education II (FOPE II) Project, which again emphasized the increasing need for training in developmental and behavioral issues for general pediatricians (Johnson RL, Charney E, Cheng TL, et al. Pediatrics 106:1175–1198, 2000). At this time, a large proportion of developmental, cognitive, and behavioral concerns in children (e.g., oppositional behavior, hyperactivity, inattention, relational health, etc.) were managed by Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians. In 2016, the ACGME program requirements added a mandate that each pediatric training program must have at least one faculty member who is certified in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) with the goal of increasing exposure of pediatric trainees to this expertise. In 2025, the ACGME program requirements strengthened the emphasis on training pediatricians in mental health by adding a required rotation in pediatric mental health. In this chapter, we will describe the current training requirements for pediatric behavioral and mental health and common strategies to meet this educational mandate.

Incorporating Mental and Behavioral Health into Pediatric Training Programs

章节
发表日期：

2026年

查看全文

Elizabeth M. Chawla,
Sue E. Poynter

摘要

Over the past four decades, there has been increasing recognition of the need to improve training in behavioral and mental health care for pediatric trainees. In 1978, the American Academy of Pediatrics Task Force on Pediatric Education published a report entitled “The Future of Pediatric Education” (American Academy of Pediatrics. Task Force on Pediatric Education. The future of pediatric education. American Academy of Pediatrics, Evanston, 1978), which emphasized the need to enhance residency training in behavioral, developmental, and adolescent issues to ensure pediatricians in the United States would be prepared to meet the growing needs of youth in these areas. This was the first formal call to enhance training in Behavioral and Mental Health (BMH) for future pediatricians. In 1990, the ACGME established new requirements for pediatric residency training that included a requirement for “evidence of structured educational experiences in adolescent medicine, child development, child psychology, and the care of the handicapped child” (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME program requirements for graduate medical education in pediatrics, background and archives. Available at: https://www.acgme.org/programs-and-institutions/programs/common-program-requirements/background-and-archives/ ), followed by the addition of a required rotation in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) in 1997 (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME program requirements for graduate medical education in pediatrics, background and archives. Available at: https://www.acgme.org/programs-and-institutions/programs/common-program-requirements/background-and-archives/ ). In 2000, Johnson et al. published the Final Report of the Future of Pediatric Education II (FOPE II) Project, which again emphasized the increasing need for training in developmental and behavioral issues for general pediatricians (Johnson RL, Charney E, Cheng TL, et al. Pediatrics 106:1175–1198, 2000). At this time, a large proportion of developmental, cognitive, and behavioral concerns in children (e.g., oppositional behavior, hyperactivity, inattention, relational health, etc.) were managed by Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians. In 2016, the ACGME program requirements added a mandate that each pediatric training program must have at least one faculty member who is certified in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) with the goal of increasing exposure of pediatric trainees to this expertise. In 2025, the ACGME program requirements strengthened the emphasis on training pediatricians in mental health by adding a required rotation in pediatric mental health. In this chapter, we will describe the current training requirements for pediatric behavioral and mental health and common strategies to meet this educational mandate.