The Pediatric Department's residency training program provides housestaff with a comprehensive educational experience in the science and art of child health care. This is achieved through training programs in Categorical Pediatrics and combined programs in Pediatric/Emergency Medicine and Internal Medicine/Pediatrics. For the combined programs, see separate links (to the left).
The science of pediatrics is taught through a core curriculum of didactic conferences and patient management discussions. The art of pediatrics evolves from close interaction between housestaff and faculty. Each resident is assigned a faculty mentor who provides special guidance and feedback throughout the course of training.
Our carefully balanced program trains graduates for the practice of primary care medicine as well as for competitive fellowship positions. Residents get broad experience in primary and tertiary care and in research. As a tertiary referral center, we provide learning opportunities in both neonatal and pediatric intensive care. Strong subspecialty divisions attract regional and statewide referrals. To complement tertiary care experiences, faculty from the Divisions of General Pediatrics, Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics, and Adolescent Medicine and from the Community Practice Program act as preceptors for residents providing primary care to patients.
Residents are prepared for board certification by our accredited program, which meets all requirements of the Residency Review Committee for Pediatrics. The program received continued full accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 2006.
An Education Workgroup made up of both faculty and housestaff provides ongoing
internal review of the residency training experience.
Each year of residency training provides increased responsibility for patient care, clinical supervision, teaching, evaluation and administrative management of service areas. Clinical rotations for housestaff are divided into four-week blocks.
One of these blocks each year is devoted to an “Academic” experience,
when residents have dedicated time for learning activities that address quality
improvement, health-care delivery systems, evidence-based medicine and teaching
skills.
In the first year, residents are introduced to the common disease processes of childhood as they rotate through the full term nursery, general inpatient services, and Mercy Medical Center, our community hospital affiliate. At Mercy, you will have the opportunity to function as a "hospitalist" taking care of patients on the ward, in the clinic, and in urgent care.
Residents begin to build a foundation in acute care, strengthened over several rotations in the pediatric emergency department. Critical care medicine is introduced via rotations in our intermediate care unit and our neonatal intensive care unit. Interns have the opportunity to begin exploring the subspecialties through an elective rotation.
An experience in continuity of care begins in the first year, and is enhanced
in subsequent years. Each PL1 is assigned to an inner city clinic site for one
half-day per week throughout the three years of training. Here residents take
on the role of primary care provider and child advocate. Realizing the critical
role of pediatricians in child advocacy, you will find advocacy experiences
woven throughout this training program.
Residents gain inpatient experience in the intensive care nursery and the pediatric intensive care unit. Firsthand experience with the care of surgical patients comes through a rotation with the pediatric surgical team.
Further ambulatory training occurs in the emergency department, during your hospitalist experience at Mercy Medical Center, the adolescent clinic and in the wide variety of hospital and community-based experiences offered through the Division of Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics. Residents also spend a block of time in a community practice setting, where they focus not only on enhancing clinical skills but also learning about practice management.
PL2 residents are also allotted time for elective experiences.
A second half-day per week of a continuity clinic experience is provided during
the PL2 and PL3 years. Experience in a community practice site complements the
experience in our inner-city clinic.
Residents act primarily in a supervisory capacity on the wards, in the intensive care units, and in the emergency room. Ample opportunity is also provided for multiple elective experiences.
(Available in all subspecialty areas)
Research opportunities under the direction of selected faculty are available either during elective time or throughout the three-year program. With more than 15,000 square feet of research space, the department manages active funded programs in general pediatric medicine as well as in each of the subspecialty areas, from clinical to molecular biology.
The Department of Pediatrics is in the top 10 of state-funded school for research grants. Each resident completes a research project during their residency training (clinical, bench, educational or health services). A number of our residents have presented their work at national meetings of professional societies.
The University of Maryland Hospital serves as the primary site for clinical training. Residents also spend five of the 36 months at Mercy Medical Center. Full-time faculty from our department based at Mercy supervise and teach housestaff during the training experience there.
Our program is compliant with the ACGME duty hours policy.
Residents take call every fourth night during most inpatient rotations. "Night Float" experiences are limited to weeklong stints as the senior resident covering the inpatient ward. During rotations in the emergency department, residents work 12-hour shifts. There are five rotations during your three years of training where no call is required, including two call-free electives where residents have the chance to do a rotation in a hospital or clinic in another location - even out of the country.
Conferences are held regularly -- critical topics are reviewed annually, others biannually. This schedule ensures that each resident will be exposed to the entire didactic curriculum during training. Highlights of the general conference structure include:
Daily:
Weekly:
Monthly:
Special Seminars:
In addition to this basic conference structure, each division has its own conference schedule that residents participate in during these rotations.
Chief Residency
Two residents are selected to remain for a PL4 year as Chief Resident in Pediatrics. They are chosen for outstanding ability in patient care, leadership and teaching.
The Chief Residents supervise the housestaff and coordinates schedules, clinical rotations and conferences. This invaluable administrative, clinical and teaching experience makes an important contribution to the department. The Chief Resident is encouraged to become involved in research collaboration with faculty
Fellowship Training
Fellowship training prepares individuals for practice in a subspecialty. Three-year fellowships are offered each year in various subspecialties. Individuals interested in fellowships are encouraged to contact the head of the appropriate subspecialty division.
The department offers accredited fellowships in Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics, Critical Care, Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases, and Neonatology.
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