COMAT Clinical – Pediatrics

Content Outline and Assessment Objectives

The exam blueprint below contains the Pediatrics topics covered in two dimensions: Dimension 1 – Patient/Clinical Presentations and Dimension 2 – Physician Tasks.

Selected Specific Learner-Centered Objectives for Pediatrics

The osteopathic medical student examinee will be required to demonstrate the ability to:

1. Apply knowledge of physical, physiologic, and psychosocial growth and development from birth through adolescence, including recognizing normal milestones and providing age-appropriate anticipatory guidance.
2. Recognize situations suspicious for children at risk for abuse, neglect, or harm.
3. Identify economic or societal barriers to obtaining pediatric care.
4. Communicate with pediatric patients and families, including eliciting specific historical data and executing age-appropriate examinations.
5. Apply an organized diagnostic approach for common pediatric diseases and complaints.
6. Choose appropriate medications and management options for common pediatric conditions.
7. Develop strategies for health promotion and disease and injury prevention.

These objectives will include selected patient presentations and clinical situations involving but not limited to:

Community Health and Patient Presentation Related to Wellness: Anticipatory guidance and immunizations for infants, toddlers, school-aged children, and adolescents; guidance for social media use and mental health in childhood and adolescence; health promotion; newborn guidance and screening, including prophylaxis and immunizations; and screening and disease and injury prevention

Human Development, Reproduction, and Sexuality: Breastfeeding and feeding issues, developmental milestones (e.g., Denver Developmental examination), gender identity and evidence-based guidelines for gender affirming care, menstrual disorders, puberty and the sequence of physical changes in development (e.g., Tanner scale), reproductive health counseling, and variants of normal growth in healthy children

Endocrine System and Metabolism: Abnormal growth; diabetes; genetic, metabolic, and inherited disorders; indicators for metabolic screening and pediatric obesity intervention; and thyroid disorders

Nervous System and Mental Health: Attention deficit disorder; autism spectrum disorders; cerebral palsy and other movement disorders; conduct disorders in adolescents; congenital abnormalities of the brain and spine; differentiation between appropriate developmental behaviors and behavioral health concerns; eating disorders; encopresis; headache and migraine; infectious diseases affecting the nervous system, including meningitis, and post-infectious syndromes; intellectual disability; mood and anxiety disorders; oppositional defiant disorder in school-aged children; screening for suicidality in adolescents; seizures and tic disorders; sleep and colic in infants; specific learning disabilities; substance use; tantrums and potty training in toddlers; and traumatic brain injuries, including concussion

Musculoskeletal System: Congenital and genetic disorders, infectious diseases affecting the musculoskeletal system, overuse injuries, rheumatology, somatic dysfunction, sports medicine, structural disorders, trauma, and viscerosomatic relationships

Genitourinary/Renal System and Breasts: Congenital abnormalities; electrolyte disturbances; gynecologic disorders; infectious, acquired, and congenital disorders of the penis, scrotum, and testes; nephropathy and neoplasms affecting the renal system; urinary tract infections; and urological procedures and guidance, including circumcision

Gastrointestinal System and Nutritional Health: Abdominal pain (functional and emergent), congenital disorders, failure to thrive and poor growth, infectious diseases affecting the gastrointestinal system, irritable and inflammatory bowel disorders, and nutritional counseling and obesity prevention

Circulatory and Hematologic Systems (Includes Oncology): Anemias and hemoglobinopathies, bleeding disorders, immune system disorders, infectious diseases and other inflammatory conditions affecting the cardiovascular/circulatory system, lymphadenopathy, malignancies, toxicity, and vascular diseases

Respiratory System: Asthma; congenital disorders; infectious diseases and other inflammatory conditions affecting the respiratory system, including respiratory syncytial virus and pneumonia; and neonatal respiratory distress

Integumentary System: Acne; dermatologic manifestations of systemic disease; inflammatory skin conditions, including atopic dermatitis and psoriasis; lesions, including warts, cysts, and congenital dermal melanocytosis; and neonatal skin conditions

HEENT: Allergies; congenital anomalies; dental health; infectious conditions of the ears, nose, mouth, and throat; ophthalmic and otorhinolaryngologic disorders; and speech and phonation disorders

Selected Student and Faculty Learning Resources for Pediatrics

In addition to the aforementioned objectives, examples of supplementary resources used by the NBOME to inform the development of the Pediatrics exam are listed below:

• American Osteopathic Association (AOA) – Pediatrics
• American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians (ACOP) – Basic Standards for Residency Training in Pediatrics
• American Academy of Pediatrics

COMAT-SE

COMAT-SE is designed to provide exposure to COMAT style questions and resources for additional learning, prior to taking the COMAT Pediatrics exam.