757 - Pediatricians as Teachers: An Interactive Educational Series on 504s and IEPs for Trainees

Publication Number: 3733.757

Jonathan Junqua, UC Davis, Elk Grove, CA, United States; Jaime Peterson, Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, Portland, OR, United States

Background: Primary care providers identify children with special education needs and often help requesting special education services in school. Yet training is limited for medical students and residents regarding these services.

Objective: The effect of a 1-hour multi-modal interactive session was evaluated for effects on resident knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding IEP and 504 plans.

Design/Methods: 1-hour session was held for residents with a multidisciplinary facilitating team (general pediatrician, resident, patient parents) and several interactive activities including IEP/504 comparison, IEP document examination, and large group case discussion, informed by a prior pilot intervention. A pre-post 10-item survey adapted from Lhyembe et al., 2021 measured attitudes, skills and knowledge via a 5-point Likert scale. Intervention participants completed the survey pre/post session. Control group (non-participants) was surveyed within 1 month of intervention. Descriptive statistics via means/standard deviations were used. Chi-square test and paired t-tests compared participants pre and post-session and compared pre/post intervention results for participants and controls.

Results: 23 pediatric residents were recruited (13 intervention), and were primarily female (70%) with majority subspecialty interest (43%). Pre-intervention participant and control groups were similar via chi-square testing although nearly significant for future career goal differences (p=0.06). Participant pre vs post-test mean decreased by 0.86 (1.89±0.47, p< 0.01), reflecting increased agreement with all three question types; suggesting increases in attitude, knowledge and skills. The post-intervention group had increased agreement overall (mean difference 0.95, p< 0.01) versus the control group, especially with skills and knowledge questions.

Conclusion(s): Resident attitude, skills and knowledge increased regarding IEP/504 plans after the intervention, with a notable increase in knowledge and skills compared to the control group. High agreement with attitude questions at the start highlights residents value the topic but need targeted knowledge and skill development. Participant feedback
included interest in additional session topics and reference guides. Future studies should assess result durability post-intervention, consider further multidisciplinary partnerships, and include family medicine residents who serve families with young children.

Table 1: Intervention Vs Control Test Survey Results
PAS 2026 IEP-504 Abstract Table.pdf