Extensive teaching conferences reflect our commitment to developing the residents' knowledge base.
Resident education is a top priority in our program, and the extensive teaching conferences reflect our commitment to developing our residents' knowledge base.
The current schedule contains a weekly program (outlined below) as well as faculty/resident journal club, emergency room practicums and subspecialty conferences.
Ambulatory and Inpatient Noon Conference
Each year, a core curriculum of ambulatory and inpatient topics are presented during noon conference on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. This series provides a framework for approaching common pediatric diagnostic and management issues.
Topics are arranged into weekly themes (e.g., cardiac emergencies, adolescent mental health, etc.).
To encourage self-directed learning and board preparation, a “practice” set of three multiple-choice questions based on the weekly theme are e-mailed out to the residents by the chiefs each Friday.
Grand Rounds
Hospital staff, as well as community physicians, attend this lecture series of varied topics, ranging from advances in molecular research to legislative issues affecting children.
This forum brings international experts in pediatric medicine, research and policy and relates their expertise to our local population. Grand Rounds take place every Thursday morning.
Chief's Rounds
Periodically, the chief residents select and present an interesting case from among recent hospital admissions. Both faculty and residents attend this interactive conference that focuses on differential diagnosis and medical management.
Morning Report
Each Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, residents and attendings meet for an informal discussion of interesting patients in the hospital. Led by a chief resident or associate chief resident, a new case is presented each day and discussed by the residents. General medicine attendings and subspecialists are available to teach about specific issues in management, diagnosis and treatment.
On Tuesday mornings, residents have the opportunity to participate in mock codes run by a PICU attending. In this safe and educational environment, residents can practice skills such as intubation, chest compressions and intraosseous line insertion as well as leading a code team and following PALS-approved algorithms.
Resident Case Presentation (RCPs)
Each R3 is required to present a noon conference on a topic of his/her choice during their R3 year. The resident, in conjunction with the appropriate faculty mentor, prepares an hour-long discussion given to faculty and fellow residents.
Past topics have included prior research projects, personal interests, international experiences and fascinating cases encountered during residency.
Pathology
Approximately once a month, the Pathology Department prepares a noon conference highlighting interesting gross and histological findings. Often presented in case-based format, these interactive conferences expose residents to the pathology specimens that represent the medical diseases they encounter in the hospital.
Patient Safety
The first Wednesday of every month includes a patient safety conference. These conferences bring together residents, nurses, administration and faculty with the goal of reviewing critical cases from our hospital experience.
As a teaching institution, this process provides invaluable opportunity to learn from our experience and subsequently provide better patient care.