Practice Patterns in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: Results of a Workforce Survey

Objective: To obtain current data on practice patterns of the U.S. pediatric critical care medicine workforce. Data Sources: Membership of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Critical Care and individuals certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in pediatric critical care medicine. Study Selection: All active members of the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Critical Care, and nonduplicative individuals certified by the American Board of Pediatrics in pediatric critical care medicine, were classified as eligible to participate in this electronically administered workforce survey. Data Extraction: Data were extracted by a doctorate-level research professional. Extracted data included demographic information, work environment, number of hours worked, training, clinical responsibilities, work satisfaction and burnout, and plans to leave the practice of pediatric critical care medicine. Data Synthesis: Of 1,857 individuals contacted, 923 completed the survey (49.7%). The majority of respondents were white, male, non-Hispanic, university-employed, and taught residents. Respondents who worked full time were on clinical intensive care service for a median of 15 wk/yr and responsible for a median of 13 ICU beds, working a median of 60 hr/wk. Total night call responsibility was a median of 60 nights/yr; about half of respondents indicated night call was in-hospital. Fewer than half were engaged in basic science or clinical research. Compared with earlier data, there was minimal change in work hours and proportion of time devoted to research, but there was an increase in the proportion of female pediatric critical care medicine physicians. Conclusions: These data provide a description of the typical intensivist and a snapshot of the current pediatric critical care medicine workforce, which may be experiencing a mild-to-moderate under-supply. The results are useful for assessing the current workforce and valuable for future planning.