Development of a Competency-Based Curriculum in Global Child Health

Resident interest in global health is increasing; however, a paucity of literature on competency-based curricula in global child health is available. A collaborative group including members from the University of Minnesota (UMN) Department of Pediatrics, the UMN College of Education and Human Development, and the Makerere University Department of Paediatrics and Child Health in Kampala, Uganda, developed a competency-based global child health curriculum for pediatrics residents at UMN. The group defined competencies for each of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competency domains and developed the curriculum via six steps: (1) defining competencies specific to global child health, (2) authoring goals and objectives for each competency, (3) assigning appropriate postgraduate training levels to each competency, (4) determining intended resident groups for each competency, (5) aligning the program with the existing residency education program, and (6) developing methods to evaluate acquisition of each competency. Faculty implemented the competency-based curriculum in 2009, and the curriculum is now freely available online for adaptation and use by other residency programs. Faculty are currently introducing evaluation methods, which will allow them, for the first time, to assess a trainee's competency in global child health by the end of his or her residency. The authors believe that the development of this curriculum represents an important step forward in global health education for pediatric residents and that other residency programs, including those of nonpediatric specialties, can use the process as a model to develop global health curricula.