Education

Most pediatric dermatologists practice in academic medicine. The education of various types of learners is one of the main pillars of academic medicine. As a result, many pediatric dermatologists participate in the education of pre-professional students, medical students, residents, fellows, advanced practice providers, and primary and specialty care physicians. Additionally, there is a significant workforce shortage of pediatric dermatologists which results in approximately 4.3 pediatric dermatologists per million children in the United States; 98% of those pediatric dermatologists practice in urban areas leading to a large geographic maldistribution of specialty care. As such, this can lead to challenges in the ability to provide or access quality education on pediatric dermatology for medical professionals at differing stages of their careers.

The mission of the Education Focused Study Group within PeDRA is to:

1. Create a space where pediatric dermatologists interested in medical education can gather together to discuss research ideas and challenges.
2. Develop collaborative research projects to understand and address deficits in pediatric dermatologic knowledge among those providing care for children with dermatologic disorders.
3. Create, implement, and evaluate innovative curricula regarding pediatric dermatology.
4. Increase awareness of the specialty of pediatric dermatology by establishing a body of pediatric dermatology educational literature and developing networks outside of pediatric dermatology.