Curriculum

Overview | Program Details | Conferences | Resident Manual

Overview

Patient care is the cornerstone on which all of the educational experiences are built. Experiences relate to all aspects of pediatric medicine.

Traditional rotations include:

• inpatient wards
  
• the neonatal intensive care unit
  
• ambulatory clinics

The curriculum incorporates into each resident's education rotations in:

• pediatric critical care
  
• emergency medicine
  
• normal newborn care
  
• adolescent medicine
  
• behavioral/developmental pediatrics

Subspecialty electives provide the resident an opportunity to manage inpatients, consultations and ambulatory patients.

Throughout the three years, each resident participates in a continuity clinic. This provides a special experience for the resident to observe the physical, emotional and intellectual development of a child over an extended period of time. The resident is the primary care physician to healthy children as well as to those with chronic and acute illnesses. These clinics meet one to two half-days per week.

The curriculum provides an organized, progressive educational opportunity spanning three years. Clinical care, supervisory, and educational responsibilities are commensurate with the resident's experience and abilities. Throughout the curriculum, residents are provided the opportunity to become competent in the performance of many procedures. Satisfactory completion of the program fulfills the qualifications for certification established by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Program Details

Intensive care months (Critical Care, Neonatology), the majority of inpatient wards, emergency medicine months and most subspecialty electives are at The Children's Medical Center. Ambulatory care and adolescent months occur at WPAFB Pediatric Ambulatory Center. The Normal Newborn month is at WPAFB Medical Center during R-1 year.

During the first year of training, the resident's educational opportunities involve a high level of personal responsibility for patient care. These responsibilities include:

• evaluating a wide array of patients
  
• developing management plans
  
• writing orders to execute these plans
  
• performing various diagnostic and therapeutic procedures
  
• arranging follow-up for patients

These activities occur in outpatient, inpatient, critical care, newborn nursery, neonatal intensive care and emergency room settings. During each rotation, the resident receives an individualized and appropriate level of supervision from senior residents and faculty. Easy access to attendings makes direct intern-faculty communication and education the standard.

The Second & Third Years

General pediatrics is the emphasis of the second year, when further inpatient and ambulatory rotations are complemented by rotations in behavioral/developmental pediatrics and community medicine. Residents have their first opportunities for electives during this year. The third year of training includes increasing elective time punctuated by inpatient, ambulatory, emergency medicine and adolescent medicine rotations.

Supervisory responsibility for overseeing patient care as well as teaching residents and medical students is an important part of both the second and third years of training. Faculty supervision and interaction continues and is emphasized.

Conferences

The content of educational conferences and rounds are based on teaching how to utilize basic science resources in the development of an understanding of the mechanisms of diseases and their management. Lecture Schedule and Call Schedules are posted on web page. Morning Report Core Curriculum Conference (weekly). * Pediatric Grand Rounds (weekly). * Resident Case Conference (weekly). * Including ethics case on a regular basis. Morbidity and Mortality Conferences (monthly). * Radiology Conference Ethics * (during morning report) * Residents are required to attend these conferences. Attendance is monitored, and the expectation is that residents attend 70 percent of the "required" conferences. * Wednesday morning from 9:30–11 a.m. is MANDATORY.

Research

Although completion of a research project is not a mandatory part of the curriculum, participation in research is encouraged. Elective rotations may include research opportunities in a variety of disciplines. Collaboration with faculty can result in ongoing clinical research throughout a resident's curriculum. Resident research endeavors result in opportunities to present findings at national meetings and in peer-reviewed journals.

Additional Opportunities

Residents participate in activities leading to certification for Pediatric Advanced Life Support during their orientation week. The American Board of Pediatrics In-Training Examination provides residents with a yearly measurement of their progress and information to help them tailor their educational experiences. Residents may participate on Professional Staff Committees at The Children's Medical Center, gaining insight into the peer review and quality management activities of pediatricians. Resident representatives are members of the Department of Pediatrics Education Committee, providing an active role in their program development. Annual resident retreats are offered to allow the house staff to reflect on the training program and their experiences. Many important changes have directly resulted from these retreats.