Experiences with the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Milestones: Results of Two Nationwide Surveys

Abstract

Objectives

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry began using milestones in 2015 as a way to document observable progress through training. The study is the first assessment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (CAP) faculty and fellows’ experience with the milestones.

Methods

This study presents findings from two surveys conducted one year apart. The first electronic survey polled CAP fellows and faculty nationwide using five opinion questions; demographic data and comments were also gathered. The second, four-question survey polled CAP faculty at the American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training annual meeting.

Results

Seventy-nine fellows and 101 faculty members responded to the first survey. Averaged over the five questions, 53% of faculty and 49% of fellows responded positively, with 29 and 33% respectively giving neutral responses. Participants were a diverse group in terms of geographic distribution, program size, and experience level. Comments were predominantly negative or mixed. Fifty CAP faculty and fellows responded to the second survey. Of the three opinion questions, positive responses ranged from 62 to 90%. Forty percent of respondents reported having had no faculty development on the milestones.

Conclusions

Implementing the milestones has been a mixed experience for faculty and fellows. Direct comparison between these two surveys is not possible given their different content and format. Future directions include standardization of faculty development sessions, and improved structures to create and share best practices for assessment of trainees.