An assessment of pancreatology education in North American pediatric gastroenterology fellowship programs

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Within the last two decades, an increased incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) has been reported in childhood, with some progressing to acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) or chronic pancreatitis (CP). Training future pancreatologists is critical to improve the care of children with pancreatic diseases. There are no studies to assess whether the pediatric gastroenterology (GI) fellowship curriculum prepares specialists to care for children with pancreatic diseases. METHODS An electronic survey was distributed to all North American Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellows. The survey included 31 questions on pancreatology training including academic resources, research experience, clinical exposure, clinical confidence, and career plans. RESULTS A total of 112 (25.8%) fellows responded from 41 (41/72, 56.9%) training centers in North America. Pancreas-specific didactic lectures were reported by 90.2% (n = 101); 49.5% (50/101) had at least quarterly or monthly lectures. Clinical confidence (Likert 4-5) was highest in managing and treating AP (94.6% and 93.8% respectively), relatively lower for ARP (84.8% and 71.4%) and lowest for CP (63.4% and 42.0%). Confidence in diagnosing both ARP and CP was associated with the variety of pancreatic diseases seen (p