Who manages burn injuries in children? A program director survey evaluating burn training during pediatric surgery fellowship
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In brief
In brief
Survey of pediatric surgery program directors reveals significant gaps in burn management training, with 20% of programs offering no burn exposure and fellows logging a median of 0-2 burn cases annually over 15 years. Despite burns being a leading cause of pediatric injury, most burn care relies on general pediatric surgeons without specialized training, highlighting need for improved curriculum integration.
Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.
Purpose
Burn is one of the leading causes of injury and death in children. Currently, the Residency Review Committee does not require general surgery residents to rotate on a burn service. With many trainees no longer receiving burn training during residency, we sought to evaluate the exposure to burn management in pediatric surgery training programs.
Material and Methods
An electronic survey was sent to program directors at accredited pediatric surgery training programs (56) during the 2020 academic year. Case log reviews were performed for 2005-2019. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed.
Results
Thirty-six program directors participated in the survey (64%), and 56% reported having an inpatient and outpatient component for burn management. Nearly 20% of program directors reported having no burn management at their institution. Fifty-four percent of responding programs had fellow participation in burn management. Over a fifteen-year period, case logs identified a median of 0 to 2 burn cases logged each year for graduating fellows. Logistically, 65% of burn centers relied on general pediatric surgeons for management.
Conclusion
Pediatric surgery trainee involvement in burn management varies with many programs offering no designated burn training. Increasing exposure to pediatric burn management during training is needed to provide improved care for this patient population.