PREP® Content Specifications

The following is a sample of past school health related PREP® Content specifications.  School health experiences can be an excellent vehicle to meet the ACGME Systems-Based Practice, Interpersonal and Communication Skills and Professionalism competencies.
 

1. Recognize the normal cognitive/behavioral developmental milestones for 6 years of age (finishing kindergarten): writes name; counts ten objects, knows right from left, copies two-part figure, knows color names
2. School readiness
3. Know what to recommend to a parent when it is reported that a child has been exposed to chickenpox at school
4. Know what to recommend to a parent when it is reported that a child has been exposed to meningitis at school
5. Know what to recommend to a parent when it is reported that a child has been exposed to hepatitis A in school
6. Know what to recommend to a parent when it is reported that a child has been exposed to hepatitis B in school
7. Know what to recommend to a parent when it is reported that a child has been exposed to HIV in school
8. Provide appropriate counseling regarding activities and behavior of a child with a seizure disorder, e.g. athletics, school, driving, medications
9. Understand that the peer group has a powerful influence on the adolescent’s healthy and unhealthy behaviors: smoking, alcohol, drugs, sex, risk-taking, school attitudes.
10. Understand that assessment of the functional status of an adolescent (peer relationships, school, work, family relationships) is a specific task of the adolescent visit.
11. Understand that language development in infancy and early childhood is a better predictor of cognitive function than motor development
12. Know the association between language delay in a preschool child and later academic problems
13. Distinguish between learning disabilities and mental retardation
14. Recognize that cognitive abilities and academic skills develop at different rates for individual children
15. Recognize that children with above average intelligence may have academic failures and learning disabilities
16. Know the indications for psychological, educational, and medical evaluation of a child with poor school performance
17. Recognize that learning disabilities are usually not outgrown
18. Recognize that the educational criteria for placement in special classes are different in different states
19. Recognize factors that affect prognosis in a learning-disabled child
20. Understand that disorders of learning may appear throughout a school career
21. Know the presenting complaints of children with learning disabilities
22. Recognize the consequences of learning disabilities
23. Understand the significance of neurologic soft signs in the evaluation of learning disabilities
24. Recognize that the causes of school-related difficulties are usually multifactorial (eg, learning difficulties, attention, social, environmental)
25. Recognize factors other than mental retardation and learning disability that can cause academic underachievement (eg, emotional factors, chronic illness, truancy, drug usage)
26. Understand the concept of temperament and how the temperament of a student and/or teacher and/or parent affects school performance
27. Recognize how family environment (eg, socioeconomic class, parental educational status, culture, family structures) affects school performance and behavior
28. Recognize the medical problems that may present as complaints about school performance or behavior: Petit mal seizures, Tourette syndrome, visual problems, mild conductive hearing loss.
29. Recognize that chronic illnesses (eg, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma, malignancy, seizure disorders, diabetes, arthritis, hemophilia, human immunodeficiency virus infection, cystic fibrosis) and their treatments affect school performance
30. Know the medications that may alter school performance (eg, antihistamines, anticonvulsants)
31. Recognize that chronic school failure can lead to depression, aggressive behavior, reduced motivation for school work, juvenile delinquency, and school drop-out
32. Recognize that students with learning disabilities are at an increased risk for psychiatric illness
33. Know the emotional factors that influence academic achievement
34. Know the differential diagnosis of a child presenting with behavior problems in school
35. Know that learning disabilities are frequently seen in children with ADHD
36. Recognize that observation of behavior in a physician’s office does usually reflect the situation at school
37. Know that ADHD reaches its peak prevalence of identification in the early elementary school years
38. Know the presenting complaints in infants and preschool children with hearing impairment
39. Recognize that both achievement tests and a test of intelligence are needed in the evaluation of children with school learning problems
40. Recognize that subnormal scores on achievement tests with normal overall intelligence may indicate a specific learning disability
41. Know the indications for the use of stimulant drugs outside of school hours
42. Understand the educational settings for children with learning disorders: Self-contained classrooms, resource rooms, public or private tutoring
43. Know the provisions of current legislation for handicapped infants, toddlers and preschool children
44. Know the advantages and disadvantages of grade retention
45. Understand the utility of behavior modification approaches in the overall management of children with learning and behavioral problems
46. Know the claims and clinical research data regarding dietary intervention (eg, Feingold diet, sugar restriction, megavitamins, food allergy) for children with learning and behavioral problems
47. Know the claims and clinical research data regarding controversial perceptual/therapeutic interventions (eg, patterning, visual training exercises, sensory integration) for children with developmental disabilities
48. Know the appropriate elements involved in counseling parents about sex education for their middle school-aged children
49. Understand the issues involved in counseling parents about the involvement of their children in middle school in extracurricular activities such as music and sports: underinvolvement, over-competitiveness, socialization
50. Know that lack of school attendance should be assessed with every complaint of recurrent pain
51. Recognize the effect of a gifted child on family function
52. Know how to advise parents about managing a gifted child (home, school, peers, socialization)

Substance Abuse
1.  Recognition of drug related dysfunction
Recognize the need to evaluate for drug use/abuse as a possible etiology for or concomitance to a wide range of adolescent dysfunction (eg, delinquency, school failure, promiscuity, running away from home, family conflict, depression, suicide attempts)

2. Collateral contacts
Understand the potential value of information gathered from school or police authorities in evaluating an adolescent drug use/abuse problem.

3. Opportunities for community initiatives
Understand the value of practitioner involvement in drug use/abuse education within the schools and general community.