Global standards for postgraduate training in general pediatrics: the international pediatric community considers a vision.

uring a recent strategic planning session, the leadership of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) discussed its potential role in the international pediatric community. For the first 75 years of its existence, the ABP has focused on the American public, with the singular mission to improve the quality of care for the country’s children by setting the standards that impact the training and assessment of pediatricians. As a result of these discussions, the board of directors felt that, as one of the world’s leading pediatric regulatory and standard-setting bodies, the ABP is well positioned to collaborate with the international pediatric regulatory community to provide shared standard-setting and assessment resources. Sharing these resources could ultimately lead to better training, assessment, accreditation, and professional development of pediatricians worldwide, which, in turn, could foster improvement in children’s health beyond our borders. A dialogue was opened with leaders in the international community to explore potential opportunities in this regard. The ABP began exploratory activities by contacting the leadership of regulatory bodies around the world to solicit their advice about how best to proceed. Initial discussions led to the convening of a multinational group of thought leaders from pediatric educational and standard-setting organizations to explore the feasibility of collaboration in the development of global standards for postgraduate training. The ABP Foundation agreed to fund these and future exploratory meetings.