Curriculum

Morning Report and Lecture Series

Our program has a dedicated 60 minute daily morning report and lecture that is attended by all residents.  The first 20 minutes is Morning Report which reviews recent admissions and highlights a case presented by an intern or junior trainee.  Morning Report is led by the senior pediatric resident.  This role for a senior resident is unique among pediatric residencies, and is aligned with the reality that our graduates practice as the local pediatric expert in remote locations where they must teach and lead medical teams who may not have much pediatric experience.

A 40 minute lecture follows morning report.  Lectures are approved for CME credit.  Topics are aligned with the American Board of Pediatrics content specifications.  The first month deals with emergency and acute care pediatric topics from all specialties including general outpatient pediatrics.  Our current academic calendar details past and upcoming lectures.  Faculty (and residents) receive training in teaching techniques, and the program’s culture of expecting critique and feedback from all levels of learners have resulted in an excellent lecture series.

 Required Rotations

PL-1:  During this year, residents are given primary patient care responsibility under direct supervision of senior residents and staff.  The emphasis is on primary care of pediatric patients from newborns to adolescents. Interns spend three months on the inpatient ward (one as night shift), 2 months in the neonatal intensive care unit, two months on the newborn service (one as night shift) and 3 months in the general pediatric clinic.   One month rotations are completed on the adolescent medicine service, the Walter Reed pediatric orthopedic and sports medicine service at the Naval Academy, the Walter Reed Emergency Department, and in the emergency room at Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC. 

PL-2:  The second year is designed to introduce the resident to more sub-specialized patient care and to learn how to supervise junior residents on the ward and in the nursery.  Rotations are offered in developmental medicine, community pediatrics, pediatric critical care, the NICU, 2 months on the inpatient ward (one as night shift), ambulatory medicine, and in 4-5 electives.

PL-3:  In the third year, residents gain skills as teaching chiefs on the inpatient services and in the clinics. Rotations in subspecialty electives, a community based primary care clinic and the pediatric ICU at Children's National Medical Center are offered.

Electives

Electives in every pediatric subspecialty are offered by on-site faculty specializing in nephrology, genetics, rheumatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology, cardiology (including specialists in electrophysiology and fetal cardiology), hematology-oncology, infectious diseases, and pulmonology. Pediatric electives are also available on-site at Walter Reed in anesthesia, dermatology, allergy/immunology, radiology, urology and other surgical subspecialties. Rotations in Humanitarian Medicine, Research Methods, and Medical Education Theory and Development are available as well.

Research Curriculum

The NCC Pediatrics Residency has a strong active research community in pediatric basic science, clinical studies, and educational research .  Primers on conducting pediatric research are incorporated into the morning lecture series.  A constantly updated online database of projects and mentors is available.  There are many active protocols initiated by our residents.

All residents are required to complete a scholarly project by the time of graduation.  Topics in basic research methods are offered through the morning conference schedule, and a two-year mentored research curriculum which culminates in a completed IRB-approved research project of the resident’s own design is offered.  A monthly research conference is held prior to Grand Rounds and highlights an area of active research within the Department of Pediatrics at the hospital and at the medical school.  A yearly Resident Research Conference provides a forum for residents to present their projects.  Residents also are encouraged to submit abstracts of their research to national meetings, and funds are provided by the residency for travel for research presentations.  Our residents, fellows, faculty and medical students annually submit over 50% of abstracts for the American Academy of Pediatrics Uniformed Services Pediatric Seminar Scientific Awards Competition.

Policy & Curriculum Meeting

Two representatives elected yearly from each resident class attend the Policy & Curriculum Committee which meets quarterly.  The program has a strong legacy of valuing and implementing resident ideas and suggestions into residency policy and into the educational curriculum.  The intern and PL-2 resident representatives also comprise half of the interview and selection committee for the Chief Resident position for the upcoming academic year.

The committee commissions a faculty member from an outside institution to review one of our rotations in depth each year.  The committee reviews the report and works with the rotation faculty to implement suggestions.  Curricular improvements and refinements are derived from monthly rotation evaluations by residents, yearly evaluations of the program by faculty, ad hoc suggestions by residents and staff, ideas shared by collaborating institutions, or from changes in policy or guidance from accrediting bodies.

Military Unique Curriculum

All residents receive training and exposure to operational medicine and pediatrics.  Interns attend “C4,” the Combat Casualty Care Course.  All residents take the Military Medical Humanitarian Assistance Course, where they learn the knowledge and skills to perform basic epidemiological monitoring, administer oral rehydration solution, assess nutritional status and treat infectious disease in a humanitarian disaster. Operational medical topics such as sports injuries, eye injuries, dive medicine, flight medicine and field dermatologic conditions are offered during seminars and during morning report.

Resident Retreat / Program Retreat / Class Retreats

The yearly resident retreat occurs in September.  The residents use the retreat to foster team-building and to work together to improve the program.  Faculty, staff, residents and nurses gather each year in June to re-assess the delivery of military pediatric care and pediatric resident education in the National Capital Area.

Each class has a yearly retreat experience of their own.  Interns and PGY-2’s have a day and call-free night to be able to meet together for team-building.  Senior residents together travel to Miami, Florida for a team-building experience which also includes a residency-funded 3-day pediatric conference to supplement and solidify their educational experience.

Performance & Quality Improvement

In fitting with the ACGME's Core Competencies, residents take-on Problem-Based Learning & Improvement (PBLI) projects as part of their Continuity Clinics, learning the basics of PI/QI and applying them to a self-selected primary care topic.  Examples of resident PI projects can be found here.  Additionally, residents participate in the monthly Performance Improvement meeting at the morning conference. 

Multidisciplinary Care Meeting

Residents participate in the weekly multidisciplinary care meetings while on the inpatient ward rotations.  These meeting involve social workers, nurses, care managers, nutritionists, case managers and physicians.  Their goal is to provide and plan for optimal care and services for our special needs patients as they transition towards discharge.

Pediatric Medical Simulation

Our hospitals boast one of the most extensive medical simulation facilities in the United States.  Our residents use the USUHS Simulation Center to practice procedures, interview and examine mock patients and perform simulated telephone triage.  An additional facility dedicated to simulation of newborn delivery and premature infant care is available at the National Naval Medical Center.

Advanced Life Support Courses

All interns become qualified in PALS and NRP as well as ACLS and ATLS.  APLS is also offered during residency.  Residents become NRP instructors by the time of graduation, and all residents are offered the opportunity to become PALS instructors. 

Staff Coffee

Faculty brief each other in their area of expertise during these monthly sessions held concurrently with the residents’ housestaff meeting. 

Combat Casualty Care Course

All pediatric interns spend a week in Camp Bullis, Texas to learn the practice of combat casualty care.  They certify in Advanced Trauma Life Support at the course.

Grand Rounds

The Department of Pediatrics of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences sponsors Grand Rounds, a twice-monthly invited lecture given by pediatricians who are leaders in their fields.

Residents as Teachers

The residency and the Departments have a long tradition of teaching pediatric medicine to medical students, and the Departments are known for their innovation and expertise in pediatric medical education.  Residents receive formal and informal instruction on the art of educating medical students and other learners.

Awards are given yearly from the medical students to acknowledge the Resident Teacher of the Year.

 

NCC Pediatric Residency, WRNMMC, Department of Pediatrics, 8901 Wisconsin Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20889

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