Clinical Training:
Clinical training is spread out over the three years, and fellows receive progressively increasing responsibility over the course of the fellowship, with the goal of being fully able to run a pediatric emergency department.
During the first year, fellows spend 4 months of time in the pediatric emergency department, several blocks of time in outside rotations including PICU, sedation, and anesthesia at Comer Children's Hospital, Adult Emergency Medicine/EMS and Trauma at The University of Chicago, a month of elective, and a month of vacation. Two additional blocks are provided for protected research time with minimal duties allowing time to develop a scholarly project to be completed during fellowship.
In the second year, 4 blocks are spent in the pediatric emergency department in a supervisory capacity. Additional rotations at Comer include sports medicine and child protection. Another block of Adult Emergency Medicine/EMS at The University of Chicago and Toxicology round out the clinical training. Three months of protected research time allows the fellow to develop their scholarly project. Another month of elective and a month of vacation are provided.
During the third year, all clinical time is spent in the pediatric emergency department with a lighter clinical burden to allow the completion of a scholarly project. By this point in training, fellows are able to run the pediatric emergency department.
Educational Curriculum:
Fellow graduates will have the knowledge as well as the clinical, procedural, research, communication, administrative skills to pursue an academic career in pediatric emergency medicine. We accomplish this through a combination of clinical training, research instruction, and a weekly fellows' conference.
The weekly fellows' conference is designed to provide a rigorous instruction in the core content of pediatric emergency medicine. In addition to didactic sessions, we hold journal clubs, case reviews, and simulation-based education to round out the curriculum.
Simulation-based training allows for the development of advanced procedural skills, team leadership skills, and communication skills. Several exercises are developed throughout the fellowship including pediatric trauma resuscitation with our surgeons and nurses, a mock code curriculum in conjunction with the critical care fellows, and the opportunity for advanced procedure simulation to gain proficiency in the less common but more high stakes pediatric procedures.
Residents participate in an intensive, interactive Medical-Legal Seminar during the second year of training. This one week long seminar examines legal issues critical to the emergency physician, including discussion of case law that guides our actions. It is coordinated by a physician-attorney specializing in emergency medicine; invited faculty from the medical and legal professions enhance this long-standing University of Chicago tradition.
Research Training:
All fellows are required to complete a scholarly project with guidance from their Scholarship Oversight Committee. Appropriate projects run the range from basic science to clinical research to quality improvement and education initiatives. As part of our university-wide fellowship curriculum, fellows gain skills in research design, statistical analysis, and evidenced-based medicine through the Essentials of Patient Oriented Research (EPOR) course. Fellows may also elect to pursue advanced training in outcomes research through the Summer Program in Outcomes Research Training (SPORT).
