P3.G121: The PORTAL to Child Psychiatry: Post Pediatric Portal Program addressing access to child and adolescent mental health

Background: Pediatric mental and behavioral health concerns are increasing at a faster rate than the output of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. Pediatricians are typically the initial point of contact for children with mental and behavioral health concerns, requiring pediatricians to extend their scope of practice. To address the growing need of specialized pediatric mental health providers, the Post Portal Pediatric Program (PPPP) was developed to offer pediatricians additional training to become board eligible in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry. There are currently five PPPP programs in the country. Since inception in 2007, the five programs have collectively graduated about 54 pediatricians with dual child psychiatry certification. The aim of this study is to assess the reasons pediatricians pursue additional training, their future or current practices after training, and general reflections regarding the PPPP at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.

Project Description: A voluntary, anonymous electronic survey was distributed through an email link to a total of 8 participants associated with the PPPP at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. Three of the eight participants are in their third year of training and will be graduating in 2024; the remaining five are program graduates. The survey questions were created by the project investigators. The survey was constructed, distributed, and evaluated through the Qualtrics survey database. Additionally, the program directors of the five PPPPs were contacted to gather information regarding the number of trainees they accept, trainees graduated, funding sources, and inception year of their programs. This project qualifies as an IRB exempt study.

Discussion: All 8 participants responded to the survey. The survey captured responses regarding trainees' previous training practices, future practices, preparedness to practice adult and child psychiatry, desire for moonlighting opportunities, and feedback regarding the portal program. Most of the trainees had exposure to child and adolescent psychiatry prior to starting the program. The most reported reason for pursuing the PPPP was a concern for a knowledge gap when treating mental health diagnoses; this was followed by a lack of available mental health referral options. All participants either felt prepared or somewhat prepared to practice child and adolescent psychiatry after training. Post graduate practices were diverse and ranged from outpatient psychiatry being the most practiced, followed by residential inpatient, academic medicine, and a combination of child psychiatry and pediatrics.

Conclusion: The Post Pediatric Portal Program recruits a diverse array of individuals from varying pediatric specialties. Trainees at the Medical College of Georgia generally feel prepared to provide child and adolescent psychiatric care and would recommend this program to future trainees interested in providing specialized mental and behavioral care to the pediatric population. Funding is currently the largest barrier for expanding the PPPP.