Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Nov;67(11):e28308.
doi: 10.1002/pbc.28308. Epub 2020 Jul 30.

Humanism and professionalism training for pediatric hematology-oncology fellows: Results of a multicenter randomized trial

Jennifer Kesselheim  1 , Justin N Baker  2 , Leslie Kersun  3 , Cathy Lee-Miller  4 , Scott Moerdler  5 , Jennifer M Snaman  1 , Ann Warwick  6 , Shicheng Weng  7 , Zilu Zhang  7 ; Collaborative Network of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Fellowship Program Directors
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Humanism and professionalism training for pediatric hematology-oncology fellows: Results of a multicenter randomized trial

Jennifer Kesselheim et al. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

Purpose: Although humanism and professionalism are central tenets to the practice of medicine, few formal curricula exist for medical trainees. Following a national needs assessment among pediatric hematology-oncology (PHO) fellows, we created a novel curriculum entitled "Humanism and Professionalism for Pediatric Hematology-Oncology" (HP-PHO). In this study, we measure outcomes of this curricular intervention.

Method: We cluster-randomized 20 PHO fellowship programs to deliver usual training in humanism and professionalism (UT) or the novel curriculum (intervention) during the 2016-2017 academic year. The primary outcome measure was the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Self-Assessment in Humanism (PHOSAH). Secondary measures included the Maslach Burnout Inventory, Patient-Provider Orientation Scale, Empowerment at Work Scale, and a 5-point satisfaction scale. Participating fellows completed pre- and posttests at the beginning and end of the academic year, respectively, and we calculated change scores for each study instrument.

Results: Cluster randomization yielded 59 intervention and 41 UT fellows. The nine intervention sites administered 33 of 36 modules. Change scores on the PHOSAH were not significantly different between the UT and intervention arms. However, fellows on the intervention arm gave significantly higher ratings on several items within the satisfaction scale related to physician burnout, physician depression, balancing professional duties and personal life, and humanism overall.

Conclusions: Exposure to the HP-PHO curriculum did not alter fellows' self-assessed humanism and professionalism skills. However, intervention fellows expressed significantly higher levels of satisfaction in their humanism training, indicating the curriculum's potential for positive impact on the fellows' perceived learning environment.

Keywords: curriculum; fellowship training; humanism; professionalism.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. The Pediatric Milestone Project. https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PDFs/Milestones/PediatricsMilestones.pdf. Accessed February 18, 2019.
    1. Stern D, Papadakis MA. The developing physician: becoming a professional. New Engl J Med. 2006;355:1794-1799.
    1. Cohen JI. Linking professionalism to humanism: what it means, why it matters. Acad Med. 2007;82:1029-1032.
    1. ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in the Subspecialties of Pediatrics. https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PFAssets/ProgramRequirements/327_pediatr.... Accessed February 18, 2019.
    1. Detsky AS, Berwick DM. Teaching physicians to care amid chaos. JAMA. 2013;309(10):987-988.

Publication types