Curriculum

The Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship curriculum through the Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children includes clinical activities at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, participation in weekly multidisciplinary team meetings, participation in the Hamilton County Fatality Review Team, attendance at autopsies performed by the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office, court preparation activities, forensic interview training, journal clubs, peer review, research activities and course work at the University of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati Children’s and the Mayerson Advocacy Clinic offer a rich, challenging clinical experience, allowing fellows to acquire the knowledge, skills and confidence required to provide excellent diagnostic and management care to abused children.

The Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children is a 7,200-squarefoot facility in Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. It includes a state-of-the-art Advocacy Center, which houses physicians, nurses and social workers from Cincinnati Children’s as well as community law enforcement officials, county children’s services workers and prosecutors.

Child Abuse Team attending physicians and fellows provide consultation for suspected physical abuse, medical child abuse (Munchausen syndrome by proxy), neglect and sexual abuse.

Fellows also spend a month rotation in toxicology, forensic pathology and prevention / advocacy / outreach. Fellows are able to choose from a variety of electives including pediatric emergency medicine, radiology, orthopedics, pediatric gynecology and others.
The fellowship offers opportunities to learn and enhance the skills needed for conducting independent research. Ample opportunity is provided to acquire computer skills, including database design and management, statistical analysis, graphics and presentations, and online medical database searching and retrieval. Each fellow is expected to complete at least one research project during the fellowship under the mentorship of a scholarly oversight committee. Project development is under the guidance of one or more child abuse pediatrics faculty members. Collaboration with faculty members in other divisions is encouraged. Practical experience is provided to fellows in areas including research design and implementation, data analysis, abstract writing and presentation, and manuscript preparation.

More advanced training in biostatistics, epidemiology and clinical research methodology is offered through the University of Cincinnati. Fellows are encouraged and provided the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree or equivalent, but it is not a requirement.
Through seminars, formal presentations and practical experience, fellows acquire necessary skills in a variety of settings. Fellows obtain practical teaching experience, including presentation of formal lectures, seminars and workshops to a wide spectrum of audiences. Faculty critique fellow presentations in an effort to continuously improve skills. In addition, Cincinnati Children’s offers an online certificate and an online master’s degree in education. Fellows can pursue a certificate or master’s degree in education during their fellowship.
A curriculum addressing administrative issues is presented over the course of the core fellowship. Topics include policies and procedures, personnel management and financial issues. Fellows receive a limited amount of practical administrative experience during their training.