Pediatrics Residency – Highlights

Community Pediatrics

Each resident is introduced to the role pediatricians play in our community during their PGY1 year. Focused areas of learning include Child Advocacy, Public Health, Children with Special Needs, Health in School and Daycare, and Cultural Diversity. Learning is enhanced by participation at local community sites, including schools, daycares, telemedicine, a pediatric nursing home for technology-dependent children (the only such facility in the state of North Carolina), the child abuse center for eastern North Carolina, a regional asthma management program, and health departments. PGY1 residents also complete a community needs survey on a topic of interest. Senior residents participate in in-depth experiences designed to increase understanding of Career Development and Child Advocacy. The program supports office-based practice opportunities and community-based projects for interested residents.

All residents are assigned to a continuity clinic in their PGY1 year. They remain in this group practice for the entire three years of training. In this setting they work with a consistent group of faculty and PGY1-PGY3 residents to provide a medical home for both well children and those with a variety of chronic diseases and special needs. Patients are assigned to continuity clinics in a manner to assure exposure to a broad range of patient problems. All continuity clinics are housed in our on-campus general pediatric clinic

All residents are involved in medical student education in close cooperation with the Brody School of Medicine. MS3s and MS4s rotate through all clinical areas throughout the year. We also host several visiting medical students.
All PGY3s complete two months devoted to honing academic skills
- Academic Skills Senior block (outpatient): clinic block focused on teaching, medical student precepting, literature review, and academic writing.
- Inpatient Education Senior block (inpatient): general inpatient block focused on leading a multidisciplinary medical team and teaching in group settings
- Residents frequently utilize these blocks to prepare and present posters and abstracts at regional and national meetings and write papers for publication

Every resident is assigned to a journal club in their PGY1 year
Each group is comprised of both pediatric and med-peds faculty and residents who meet monthly for discussion.
Articles are selected to reinforce specific professional reading skills, including study analysis, understanding statistics, and implementing clinical practice guidelines.

Daily: clinic morning report
Weekly: Grand Rounds, Clinical Case Conferences
Monthly: Ethics Conference, combined Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine Grand Rounds, Radiology Rounds, Tumor Board

Scheduled around a three-year curriculum, structured in such a way to cover all of Nelson’s Pediatric Textbook twice within the three-year time period
Faculty covers all clinical areas for three hours each Friday afternoon to allow dedicated, protected lecture time.
Each summer “survival topics” are highlighted, and topics for board review are emphasized in the spring. The conference schedule dovetails with journal club and continuity clinic curricula.

Monthly board review conferences
Practice board exams every three months.
All residents develop and maintain an individualized learning plan and are mentored by a faculty advisor. Board study groups meet regularly.
Assistance from an Educational Specialist is available for those with specialized test-taking or study concerns.

Training for our residents is enhanced by close interaction with residents from the combined Medicine-Pediatrics Residency Program and through the opportunity to work with Neonatology fellows during rotations in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.