Hospital leaders are bracing for pediatric residency changes that could reshape the hospital workforce, a recent study found.
The study, published May 27 in Hospital Pediatrics, surveyed pediatric hospital medicine leaders at 101 hospitals. The survey asked about leaders’ staffing models, anticipated changes that would come with the 2025 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s pediatric residency curriculum changes and their accommodation plans.
The 2025 ACGME pediatric residency requirement changes were designed to modernize training and create greater customization of the residency experience. As part of the changes, pediatric residency discretionary time on general inpatient and subspecialty services and ICU time decreased, leaving some pediatric hospitalists to assume additional inpatient services previously staffed by residents, according to a Cleveland Clinic article covering the study.
The survey found 31% of leaders anticipated a decrease in pediatric resident presence on pediatric hospital medicine services. Before the residency changes, 70% of leaders were exploring or implementing the hiring of hospitalists in their programs.
Due to the changes, leaders said they anticipate increasing hiring of advanced practice providers and increasing current hospitalist shift coverage.
“Pediatric hospital medicine group leaders anticipated additional staffing hires prior to the implementation of the 2025 ACGME pediatric residency changes,” the study authors wrote. “Increased workload and staffing concerns correlated with lower anticipated career satisfaction, highlighting the need for additional support for pediatric hospital medicine groups.”
Pediatric hospital medicine was established about 30 years ago.
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