A Survey of Pediatrics Resident Knowledge of Growth and Development

Objective The primary objective of this study was to evaluate pediatric residentsʹknowledge about the milestones of growth and development in chlidren. Materials and Methods Seventy-one pediatric residents from 3 main Childrenʹs Centers in Tehran weresurveyed to evaluate their knowledge on growth and development of children.Included in the survey was based upon filling up a questionnaire containingquestions about four different categories of development (motor, cognitive,speech and social interactions). The scores that the residents got from the testwere summed up and were compared together. Results 71 resident participants completed the questionnaire. The distribution ofresidents by year was 26 post graduate year 1 (PGY1), 26 PGY2, and 23 PGY3.The knowledge of 14 (19.7%) of the participants about childʹs development wasranked as "Less than expected", 47 (66.2%) as "Unacceptable", 10 (14.1%) as"Acceptable" and none (0%) as "Ideal", according to the total score they gotfrom their correct answers to the questions. Conclusion This study describes that most pediatric residents lack the acceptable knowledgeon childrenʹs growth and development. It seems that their knowledge did notimprove through their years of residency.