eaching future doctors how to provide child-friendly and family-centered care is as much an art as it is a science. While few in number, children’s hospitals, such as Children’s Medical Center, train almost one-third of our nation’s pediatricians and half of all pediatric specialists, such as neurologists or cardiologists. If you have children, they’ve probably been cared for by a pediatrician or a family practice physician who trained at a children’s hospital at some point in his or her career.

Because children’s hospitals often take care of children with very serious and complex conditions, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis or heart transplants, they must provide the most technologically advanced care available. Doctors in training at children’s hospitals get specialized education and unique experience that no other hospital can provide.

But teaching great physicians takes time and money. While Medicare pays for training physicians in adult hospitals, children’s hospitals don’t qualify for this funding because they don’t treat adult patients. That’s why, in 1999, the National Association of Children’s Hospitals successfully lobbied Congress to create the Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education payment program. This program provides federal funding to nearly 60 children’s hospitals that train physicians and ensures children’s hospitals can continue to provide quality care while they train the next generation of healers.

However, NACH and children’s hospitals must appeal to Congress for this funding each year. Ask your children’s hospital how you can help make sure children’s hospitals get the money they need to train the doctors who care for children.

Children’s hospitals, including Children’s Medical Center, also train nurses, occupational therapists, social workers, dentists and other healthcare professionals. By receiving professional training in a children’s hospital, our nation’s future healthcare professionals gain an appreciation for the specialized needs of children and develop the skills and compassion needed to care for families.

To learn more about the importance of graduate medical education to children’s health and children’s hospitals, visit www.childrenshospitals.net. To learn more about the UT Southwestern Residency Training Program at Children’s Medical Center, visit www.pediatricresidents.com. For more information about training and scholarship programs at Children’s Medical Center for nurses and allied health professionals, visit www.childrens.com.