Optimizing pediatric rheumatology training of adult rheumatology fellows

Purpose The approximately 250 board certified Pediatric Rheumatologists in the United States are unable to see all of the children in need of specialized rheumatologic care. Consequently, many pediatric patients receive this care from practitioners trained in internal medicine and/or adult rheumatology. With only 10-20 fellows graduating from pediatric rheumatology training programs each year, reliance on non-pediatricians is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Little is known about how best to prepare adult-trained providers to care for children. We examined the views of adult rheumatology fellows (ARF) training in a pediatric rheumatology clinic in an attempt to learn how to optimize a pediatric training program for adult rheumatologists.