The goal of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowship training program at Children’s Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine is to provide comprehensive training to pediatricians in the scientific and clinical practice of pediatric critical care medicine.  This training includes those elements which typify an accomplished and well-rounded practitioner, including medical knowledge, clinical skills, judgment, research skills, humanistic qualities and professionalism, and a commitment to scholarship and life-long learning.  Current fellows come from top programs across the country and have a wide range of research interests.  To learn more about our application process, click here.

Clinical

Rotations in the pediatric intensive care unit and night call are uniformly distributed throughout the three years, that is, the program is not front-loaded.  We believe this promotes appropriate graduated responsibility to prepare the graduate to independently practice critical care; permits early participation in research; and provides for appropriate work-life balance.  Fellows enjoy focused rotations in cardiac critical care all three years, but also manage post-operative cardiothoracic surgery patients every night on call throughout their three years.  In addition, required rotations include 4 weeks of anesthesia early in the first year, and a cardiology rotation (1 week of ECG, 1 week of echocardiograms, 2 weeks of cardiac cath lab).  Fellows are welcome to pursue additional rotations, such as adult intensive care with our partners at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. 

Curriculum

A comprehensive curriculum is provided during weekly conferences, cycling approximately every two years.  The content is guided by the content outline of the Critical Care Subboard of the American Board of Pediatrics, and includes fundamental physiology and applications to the practice of critical care.  Standing conferences address administrative aspects of critical care practice, ethics, neurocritical care, and cardiac critical care.  In addition, regular journal clubs and research updates by division members offer an opportunity to evaluate innovative therapies and examine proposed mechanisms of critical illness.  An active simulation program through the KIDStar center provides a realistic immersion in physiology and team dynamics.

Research

The goal of the research experience is to provide fellows with the skills to analyze and interpret research relevant to their practice and to establish the basis for further, active participation in research throughout their careers by fostering the fellows’ meaningful participation in quality, hypothesis-driven research under the supervision of an experienced mentor and medical scientist.  During the first few months of the first year fellows, with the guidance of the program director, explore the scope of clinical and research projects available throughout the medical school.  Through completion of a scholarly project fellows will demonstrate a basic understanding of the research process, including qualitative and quantitative methods, and the use of the scientific method. In addition, the critical care fellow must be able to critically analyze the medical literature as it relates to patient care.  Current and past fellows have pursued both clinical and bench research, covering diverse topics such as embryogenesis, cell signaling in response to hypercapnia and hypoxia, mechanisms of traumatic brain injury, evaluation of monitoring technology, quality improvement, medical education, and medical ethics.  Fellows consistently present their work at premier national meetings, including FASEB, SCCM, ATS, AAP, PAS, Chest, and others.

Application Process

Our applications are handled through ERAS with selection through NRMP.  Click here for more details.