To meet this rising demand, increasing numbers of training programs are being established to provide trainees with the requisite knowledge and skills to independently deliver care for infants with neurological injury or impairment from the fetal care center and neonatal intensive care unit to the outpatient clinic. This article provides an initial framework for standardization of training across these programs.
Recommendations include goals and objectives for training in the field; core areas where clinical competency must be demonstrated; training activities and neuroimaging and neurodiagnostic modalities which require proficiency; and programmatic requirements necessary to support a comprehensive and well-rounded training program.
With consistent implementation, the proposed model has the potential to establish recognized standards of professional excellence for training in the field, provide a pathway toward Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education certification for program graduates, and lead to continued improvements in medical and neurological care provided to patients in the neonatal intensive care unit.