Prenatal consultation: perspectives on training, relevance, and utilization among pediatric subspecialty program directors.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the experience and training of house officers in prenatal consultation, and to assess program directors' perceptions regarding adequacy of training, and relevance and utilization of prenatal consultation in their field.

STUDY DESIGN: An online survey was distributed to program directors of all ACGME-accredited programs in the United States in relevant pediatric subspecialties.

RESULTS: Ninety-five percent (142/150) of respondents agreed that prenatal consultation from their field can impact decision-making, yet 46% (69/149) believe their prenatal consult services are underutilized. The majority (56%, 86/152) reported no formal curriculum related to prenatal consultation in their program. Nine percent (14/150) rated their trainees as not adequately trained to perform competent prenatal consultation upon graduation; 35% (52/150) rated trainees as only "somewhat" competent.

CONCLUSION: Our study, the first of its kind, reveals widespread lack of formal training curricula, which may explain the finding that many graduating trainees are perceived as inadequately prepared to perform competent prenatal consultation.