U.S. residency directors' views of the importances of seven roles that pediatrics residents should master.

Pediatrics residency programs should define and evaluate for their residents and faculty the competencies that residents should acquire during their three years of training. This 1987 survey of 129 pediatrics residency directors sought data about the demographic characteristics of the programs and asked the program directors to what degree they agreed that seven roles (each comprising several competencies) of the general and ambulatory-care pediatrician were essential. There was strong agreement on the seven roles and no demonstrated association between these responses and the residency programs' university affiliations, types of facilities, ages, lengths of training, or geographic locations. The results of this survey may be useful in developing ways to document and evaluate residents' performances and define subspecialty objectives that are consistent with the seven basic roles.