Pediatric Collections: Enriching Pediatric Learning: A Guidebook for Preceptors

COMSEP, the Council of Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, is a community of pediatric educators committed to supporting each other and delivering excellent pediatric education to medical students. The articles and commentaries in this latest entry in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Pediatric Collection series, entitled Enriching Pediatric Learning: A Guidebook for Preceptors, have been written by COMSEP members, and the principles of our organization have driven much of their work. COMSEP’s guiding principles articulate what its members believe to exemplify excellence in medical student education: Teaching should be excellent, innovative, and scholarly; The learning environment should be safe and enjoyable for all; and Patient/family centeredness, teamwork, professionalism, humanism, and service are essential core values of pediatrics. Another principle is that Pediatric medical student education makes all students better doctors. We recognize that not everyone whom we teach will become a pediatrician, nor will they ultimately care for children in their practice. But we also recognize that many of the skills they learn and the behaviors they observe while working with children, families, and pediatric professionals will influence their growth and may ultimately affect the physicians and surgeons they become. By Susan L Bannister, MD, MEd, FRPC Editorial Board, Pediatrics; Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary