Pediatric Environmental Health Fellowship | Overview
The Pediatric Environmental Health Fellowship will introduce fellows to issues in environmental health, and educate them about the interactions – biological, social and cultural – between children and the environment. The training program includes training in research and teaching in environmental health.
The goals of this fellowship are:
- To introduce generalist pediatricians to issues in environmental health.
- To educate pediatricians about the many interactions – biological, social and cultural – that occur between children and the environment.
- To increase the quality and quantity of research and teaching in pediatric environmental health.
- To create a cadre of leaders in this emerging discipline.
Training
The fellowship training program in Pediatric Environmental Health is a 2 or 3-year fellowship designed to train pediatricians in the assessment and management of children whose health problems are related to the environment (for example, heavy metal poisoning, allergies and asthma, exposures to indoor and outdoor pollution, contaminants of foodstuffs, toxic waste dumps, etc.) and to provide them with the necessary public health and research background to be successful academicians and physician scientists. The goal is to produce pediatricians who excel in community-based and primary care research addressing environmental health problems affecting children and who will be leaders in the emerging field of pediatric environmental health.
The program emphasizes teaching and research, the mastering of scientific and grant writing skills, and the development of effective advocacy skills and expertise in the critical review of the pediatric environmental health literature and risk assessment. The training sites for each fellow are tailored to his or her interests. The curriculum covers: didactic curriculum (30%), clinical practice (15%), community activities (15%), and research (40%). By the conclusion of the training period, all fellows will meet competencies in environmental pediatrics, including those milestones around medical knowledge, patient care, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice.
Fellows undertake advanced training in biostatistics and epidemiology and will receive training in advocacy, linked to innovative clinical programs in that include environmental law and public policy.
Fellows pursue an academic career trajectory. They have access to advanced computer facilities and technologies available at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and other affiliated institutions. Fellows will rotate through the Pediatric Environmental Health Clinic, which sees about 350 patients each year plus 10-20 inpatient consultation/admissions annually.
Contact Us
Further information is available by contacting Alan Woolf, M.D., M.P.H. at 617-355-8177
Alan.woolf@childrens.harvard.edu