Pediatric Residency Program

Our Residents

Christina Cifra, M.D.

Undergraduate: University of the Philippines
Medical School: University of the Philippines College of Medicine
E-mail: ccifr001@umaryland.edu

A little bit about myself...

I moved halfway around the world to Baltimore to be part of Pediatrics at the University of Maryland. Growing up and studying medicine in the Philippines, I learned to be a doctor in a place where not everything is available, and not all patients can afford adequate health care. I loved my work in Manila and it broke my heart to leave home, but I decided that it was time to see how pediatrics is practiced and taught in a place where resources are more accessible. So here I find myself in Maryland, where everyday so far has been a window to the endless possibilities of medicine for children.

The University of Maryland is a great place to learn and practice pediatrics for so many reasons that I keep discovering every day. The most apparent one is that people who work here are amazing - the program administration and teaching staff are responsive and nurturing, the residents are smart, funny, hardworking and have a strong sense of camaraderie, and the hospital staff are warm and supportive. The hospital itself is beautiful, with an atrium that lets the light in on the dreariest of call days. Baltimore's patient population is also diverse and interesting, with a range of pathology I thought I would only see in my hometown. One of the things that struck me the most in my few months here is that the community is wholly committed to caring for Baltimore's sick children with a lot of supportive services available to patients with particular needs. I specifically love this aspect of pediatrics here, seeing how the pediatricians' work and the community's efforts combine to provide the best care possible for sick kids.

A city girl born and bred, I grew up in the big bad city of Manila, and this is why I absolutely love Baltimore. I think it's a city that is real, with real problems and social scourges, but full of people who love it and are working hard to solve its ills. Baltimore is beautiful in that it is historic, culturally-diverse, socially-relevant and just begging for you to get involved. I love it for its distinct neighborhoods, its innumerable bars and happy hours (comparable only to the number of churches and other places of worship), its great old public library, its tiny hole-in-the-wall clubs, and the old painted industrial signs on the sides of its buildings. I think it's an amazing place to live and work, and the fact that it's only a few hours drive to DC and New York will gradually fade into insignificance once you are connected to the city's rhythm and pulse.

After residency, I plan to pursue a fellowship most probably in pediatric critical care. I love working in the units and am addicted to the adrenaline rush of acute care. On the other hand, I also have strong epidemiologic/public health leanings which I am still figuring out how to incorporate with critical care pediatrics. So far, my research interests have been in nephrology, although I am also interested in doing clinical research on sepsis and shock.

Please do feel free to email me if you have any questions about pediatric residency here in the University of Maryland, being a foreign medical graduate, about Baltimore in general, or really, anything under the sun!

This page was last updated on: November 9, 2008.

For more information about UMCH or to make an appointment, please call 1-800-492-5538 (patients) or 1-800-373-4111 (physicians).