Program Overview
The Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine is committed to providing the highest quality pediatric emergency care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet the immediate and highly specialized need of acutely ill or injured children and their families. Members of the Section have special training in the management of children with a wide variety of serious illnesses. The Pediatric Emergency Department - the only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center on the southsideof Chicago - treats more than 35,000 patients each year, including hundreds with complex trauma injuries. In conjuction with various surgical specialists, care is provided for children with injuries ranging from minor to the most serious multiple traumas.
The Pediatric Emergency Room is comprised of 22 general exam rooms, two procedure rooms, two triage rooms, and two trauma/resuscitation rooms. Fully equipped air medical transport is available for critically injured patients from the surrounding areas.
The Pediatric Emergency Room is a center for resident and other medical staff education in the acute management of ill and injured infants, children, and adolescents. Every month approximately 20 residents from 5 different programs rotate through the Pediatric Emergency Department. In addition to the University of Chicago's Pediatric and Emergency Medicine residents, residents from the Emergency Medicine programs at University of Illinois, The John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, and Resurrection Medical Center also rotate through the Pediatric Emergency Department as well as medical, nursing, and paramedic students. These educational experiences include didactic curriculum and significant hands-on training. Faculty members also participate actively in education from the local to international level.
The faculty of the Pediatric Emergency Section is involved in a number of research projects. There is on-going research on a variety of problems related to health and emergency care of children and adolescents including prevention, patient safety and medical education, and the evaluation of resident training.
A variety of outreach programs are provided by the faculty, including Pediatric Advanced Life Support Courses, lectures on topics of interest related to emergency care and representation in community, state, and national organizations.
Education
Every month between 20 and 25 residents from 5 different programs rotate through the Pediatric Emergency Department. In addition to the University of Chicago’s pediatric and emergency medicine residents, residents from the emergency medicine programs at University of Illinois, The John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County and Resurrection Medical Center also rotate through the Pediatric Emergency Department.
Residents are expected to demonstrate knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical and social sciences, and the application of their knowledge to patient care and the education of others, and apply an open-minded, analytical approach to acquiring new knowledge. They are expected to provide patient care that is compassionate, appropriate and effective for the promotion of health, prevention of illness, treatment of disease and at the end of life. They are also expected to be able to use scientific evidence and methods to investigate, evaluate and improve patient care practices, as well as demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that enable them to establish and maintain professional relationships with patients, families, and other members of health care teams. Residents are expected to demonstrate behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, an understanding and sensitivity to diversity. Finally, they are expected to demonstrate both an understanding of the contexts and systems in which health care is provided, and the ability to apply this knowledge to improve and optimize health care.
To learn more about our clinical program, visit the Comer Children's Hospital website.
