Pediatric residency training at USA is designed to prepare residents for either private practice or subspecialty training.  The flexible nature of the elective schedule in the PL-2 and PL-3 years permits ample opportunity for subspecialty exposure and supervised research activity for residents interested in pursuing an academic career.  A wide variety of clinical experiences are coupled with regularly scheduled didactic conferences and a Core Curriculum program.

Resident Progress

• PL-1 The PL-1  functions as the primary physician for children on the pediatric inpatient service, the nursery,  the clinic and the emergency room. The PL-1 is responsible for the initial history and physical examination, developing an assessment and management plan, performing general pediatric diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, communicating with parents and consulting services, and instructing medical students on pediatric clerkships.
• PL-2 The second year resident assumes a more supervisory role on the inpatient, clinic, emergency room and nursery services as well as a more intensive involvement in the instruction of medical students. The PL-2 should advance towards independence in the management of routine ambulatory and inpatient pediatric problems and begin to develop expertise in subspecialty areas, including pediatric critical care. 
• PL-3 The third year resident is the leader of the pediatric inpatient and nursery teams. The PL-3 supervises PL-1’s, PL-2’s, family practice, obstetric and psychiatric residents on the pediatric service, and junior and senior medical students and physician assistant students on pediatric clerkships. It is anticipated the PL-3 will demonstrate progressive independence in the assessment and management of complex problems in pediatrics.

Rotations

Number of months per year on each rotation:

Conferences

Morning Report is attended by all students, residents, and faculty involved in the inpatient service at USA Children's and Women's Hospital.  This conference begins with concise presentations of all of the pediatric service admissions for the past 24 hours.  This is followed by an interactive case presentation that promotes critical thinking skills involved in assessing history, physical examination and diagnostic studies data and developing a diagnosis and treatment plan.

Grand Rounds is a weekly didactic conference presented by faculty of the pediatric department, supporting faculty from other departments and guest lecturers.  Grand Rounds topics are chosen to address new information in the field of Pediatrics as well as the core educational objectives of pediatric residency education.  Grand Rounds attendance is open to all interested individuals within the university and community.

Pediatric Conference is a weekly conference and includes didactic presentations, case conferences, Morbidity and Mortality conferences and guest lecturers.   Pediatric Conference topics are chosen to address core educational objectives of the residency, current trends in the practice of Pediatrics, and topics of local and regional interest.  Pediatric Conference attendance is open to all interested individuals within the university and community.

Residency Conference is a weekly conference and is primarily an interactive conference that addresses topics and skills in ambulatory pediatrics, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, care of the neonate, and board review sessions.  Lunch is provided.  Participation is strongly encouraged.  This conference is open primarily to residents.

Subspecialty Conferences are held during most of the subspecialty rotations and consist of regular conferences and/or small group seminars.  These conferences range from multi-disciplinary to one-on-one sessions.

Core Curriculum

Each month a different area of pediatrics is focused on by the Core Curriculum program. This program consists of weekly reading assignments accompanied by online study guides and quizzes, followed by a case conference to assist in applying the studied information. PREP questions from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Journal Club and a board review conference are tied into the same content area each month. Resident participation is tracked through quiz completion, conference attendance and participation, and PREP question completion. The top few residents with the highest level of participation each month are awarded textbooks.

Continuity Clinic

Each resident has one half-day per week continuity clinic scheduled.  The children in continuity clinic are followed for the entire duration of the resident's training.  Well children are followed for health promotion visits, children with acute illnesses are managed, and children with chronic illnesses are followed concurrently with pediatric subspecialists.  The patients are seen by their regular resident physician for as many of their health care visits as possible.  This experience simulates the usual practice of private pediatricians.  It also helps the resident learn longitudinal, ongoing care of children with acute and special health care needs in a way that no month-long rotation can provide.  Residents follow 150 or more families through the continuity clinic during residency.