The seminar in pediatric psychology is designed to give students didactic and experimental training in a comprehensive selection of research, which is ongoing throughout graduate training and clinical topics related to professional development of pediatric psychologists. Emphasis is placed on providing students with practical information that is relevant to their professional development.
Sample Topics
- Introduction to Pediatric Psychology: Part I
This course provides a basic introduction to the field of pediatric psychology. The course covers topics related to professional issues in pediatric psychology, consultation and professional relations with physicians, psychological services, models of health care delivery and specialized populations such as childhood chronic illness, children's hospitalization and surgery, etc.
- Introduction to Pediatric Psychology: Part II
Experienced pediatric practitioners present an overview of the incidence, prevalence, and medical management of various pediatric conditions (e.g., cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, HIV infection, asthma, insulin dependent diabetes) and psychological issues related to clinical management and research.
- Applied Research Methods
The course is designed to familiarize students with issues and methods that are used in various types of applied clinical research such as program evaluation, single case designs, studies of individual differences, and prospective methodology. Emphasis is placed on recognition, analysis, and management of the threats to validity posed by clinical research problems such as sampling considerations, statistical power, sample attrition, non-experimental designs, etc. In addition, the course will deal with practical issues that arise in implementing clinical research such as collaboration with agencies and hospital recruitment, and sample attrition. Ethical issues that arise in the conduct of clinical research are also emphasized.
- Critical Review of Research in Pediatric Psychology
The purpose of this course is to acquaint students with state of the art issues in pediatric and child psychology and to give them practice in critically reviewing manuscripts. Clinically relevant papers that illustrate how research can inform practice are presented for discussion. Students will be responsible for reviewing manuscripts and preparing written critiques. Students compare their critiques with those of consulting editors.
- Grant Writing
The purpose of this course is to facilitate student understanding and facility with the grant writing process and to sharpen students' proposal writing. Content areas include the following issues: the importance of pilot data; obtaining start-up money; maximizing opportunities for resources in local and national foundations; applications to NIH-NIMH; the importance of selecting the proper agency; making contact with agencies; overview of the grant review process. Students present proposals and receive feedback from other students who are assigned as reviewers.
- Ethical Issues in Psychological Research
The course focuses on ethical issues in psychological research, including human subject issues, data management, authorship, presentation of data, presentation of research in the media, responsibilities of researchers who conduct work on sensitive topics, plagiarism, data fudging, etc. Special emphasis will be placed on issues that relate to research in pediatric settings, e.g., issues of informed consent for children, responsibilities in collaborative research.
- Culture and Ethnicity in Research and Practice in Clinical Psychology
The purpose of this course is to provide students with a systematic foundation of knowledge concerning the impact of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity on psychological research and practice. This course presents an integrated perspective concerning research and practice with children and adults from various cultural and ethnic groups. Faculty scholars from various departments in the university and experienced practitioners from community settings discuss specific research and clinical perspectives raised by specific ethnic and cultural groups. Course requirements include a paper (a critical review of research and practice pertaining to cultural or ethnic issues or a case presentation together with a critical review). Students are required to present summaries of their papers and circulate them to their colleagues.
Additional Seminars
- Writers Workshop
The workshop has several purposes: (1) to acquaint students with the
various formats and possibilities of professional writing. These include
case reports, research reviews, commentaries, and research reports
and (2) to provide students with structure to support their own writing
projects through specific assignments, group critique, group support,
and discussion of the inherent difficulties in writing. (2) Give students
experience in review and critique of others’ work. Writers’
Workshop meets every 1-2 months throughout graduate training. A
description of the workshop has been published in the peer reviewed
literature (Drotar, D. (2000). Training professional psychologists to
write and publish. The utility of a writer's workshop seminar.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 31, 453-457).
- Seminars in Advanced Data Analytic Methods
We have initiated a series of seminars that are convened by experts in data analysis that focus on providing students with didactic and hands on training in advanced data analytic methods such as structured equation modeling, confirmatory factor analysis, and hierarchical linear modeling.
- Case Conferences in Behavioral Pediatrics and Pediatric Psychology
Students who are on placement at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital attend and present at the Case Conference of the Division of Behavioral Pediatrics and Psychology.
- Journal Clubs
Division of Behavioral Pediatrics and Division of Clinical Epidemiology students have an opportunity to attend journal clubs that cover a wide range of clinical and research-related topics.
- Schubert Center Conversations about Children
This seminar series features the work of scholars at Case Western Reserve University representing a wide range of professional disciplines who are experts on research and clinical care with children and adolescents.
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