Schedules

The goals of the first year of training are to acquire foundational medical skills in pediatrics by developing clinical efficiency in patient care. During this time, residents also perfect their abilities to work as members of interdisciplinary care teams across outpatient and inpatient health care environments.

First-year residents rotate through general medicine services as well as inpatient, consult, and outpatient subspecialty experiences at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, as well as the normal newborn nursery and neonatal intensive care units at Prentice Women's Hospital. Several months of outpatient primary care, a month in the emergency department and integrated experiences in pediatric mental health, developmental-behavioral pediatrics, advocacy and community health round out the first-year. 

Each first-year resident has a designated chief, associate program director, and coach who help guide their interests. In addition to orientation, all PL-1 residents have monthly simulation training, a full day of dedicated resuscitation and procedural simulation in the fall, an off-site day-long retreat in the winter as well as dedicated intern vacation in the spring to celebrate the end of the first year as a class.

Rotations in the first year include:

1. Subspecialty Rotations: Specialty-specific teams that comprise our pediatric wards. These teams include: nephrology, neurology, and gastroenterology/hepatology, hematology/oncology and pulmonary/allergy. During these rotations, PL-1 residents are primarily responsible for inpatient care.
2. Subspecialty Outpatient Rotations: A majority outpatient experience in various subspecialty clinics with scattered consult experience. This culminates with a case presentation to the residency team during academic half day. 
3. General Medicine Wards: Inpatient care for general pediatric problems ranging from acute illness to medically complex/chronic illness.
4. Neonatal Intensive Care Units: Located at Prentice Women's Hospital, residents gain experience in neonatal resuscitations and caring for preterm and medically complex infants.
5. Newborn Nursery: Well newborn care at Prentice Women's Hospital. In this well-baby nursery, residents gain experience managing non-urgent problems, giving anticipatory guidance and perfecting the newborn physical exam. This is a great place for residents to recruit newborns for their own general continuity clinics.
6. Emergency Department: A level I trauma center that sees more than 50,000 patients a year. Residents work 4 weeks of evening and overnight shifts. A core lecture series goes over procedural basics including splinting, suturing and mock codes.
7. Outpatient General Pediatrics: Outpatient pediatric clinic at a local Lurie Children's–affiliated private practice. 
8. Primary Care/Advocacy & Mental Health/DBP Bootcamps: Immersive week-long educational experiences held twice annually. The first one, in the summer, focuses on primary care pediatrics and advocacy, including community-based learning with local organizations. The second, in the winter, explores pediatric mental health, development, and behavior, with an emphasis on assessment and treatment. Both bootcamps feature interactive sessions led by expert faculty and community leaders, providing residents with multidisciplinary, hands-on learning opportunities.
9. Adolescent Medicine: A variety of outpatient clinics in adolescent medicine where you can learn about reproductive health, eating disorders, mental health, and gender care.
10. Behavior & Development Pediatrics: Interactive experiences in day care, small groups, schools and clinics to foster education in both normal and abnormal developmental patterns, behaviors and management strategies
11. Continuity Clinic Immersive Block: A dedicated block of with 4-6 continuity clinic days per week, sick clinics, sports medicine clinics, weight and wellness clinic, personal administrative time and educational half days with didactic lectures and patient simulations. 
12. Mental Health: Exposes residents to psychiatry consult liaison services within the hospital, in the ED, and through modules.

During the first year, residents participate in a night float system, compliant with ACGME work hour guidelines.

The second year of training focuses on residents entering into supervisory and leadership experiences, continuing experience in general pediatrics and more subspecialty experiences. During their second year, residents gain greater autonomy and responsibility as they transition into leadership roles with first-year residents and medical students.

Experiences in the second year include assignments in the pediatric intensive care units, hematology-oncology, and supervisory roles in the subspecialty services, emergency department and more focused time in adolescent medicine, as well as elective time.

Residents interested in Certificate Programs may participate in sessions from any number of the areas. Those who wish to commit firmly to a particular area of focus will do so during PL-2 year.

The second year is critical to the academic maturation of the resident and links the core curriculum of the first year with the supervisory leadership role of the third year. A two-day PL-2 retreat in the fall to a local resort sponsored by the program is used to help this transition by focusing on leadership and career development and dedicated time with faculty and hospital leaders for program strategic planning.

Rotations in the second year include:

1. Subspecialty Rotations: During these rotations, the PL-2 may have responsibilities such as inpatient care, consultations, and outpatient clinics. During inpatient rotations, PL-2 residents transition into a leadership role as a supervisory resident both for call and during the daytime. The other rotations include a majority outpatient experience in various subspecialty clinics with scattered consult experiences. Every PL-2 resident does 2 weeks of infectious disease consults combined with experiences working with our Center of Quality and Safety. This culminates with a case presentation to the residency team during academic half day.
2. Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago Lefkofsky Pediatric ICU has 60 beds. PL-2 residents do not cover the cardiac ICU patients, thereby maximizing exposure to the diagnostic and management challenges of the medically complex patients in the PICU.
3. Emergency Department: PL-2s are given more independence in the ED working the busier evening and overnight shifts beside interns
4. General Medicine Ward: PL-2s gain more autonomy caring for patients on the PL-2 only Gen Med C service. PL-2s supervise medical students and rotating residents while caring for common pediatric problems.
5. Adolescent Medicine: A variety of outpatient clinics in adolescent medicine where you can learn about reproductive health, eating disorders, mental health, and gender care. 
6. Electives: A variety of elective options are available at Lurie Children's. Possible electives include: sports medicine, dermatology, dentistry, urology, infectious disease, otolaryngology, genetics, pediatric surgery, general academic medicine, anesthesia, radiology, vascular access, orthopedics, ophthalmology and any additional subspecialty clinic as mentioned above.
7. Continuity Clinic Immersive Block: A dedicated block of with 4-6 continuity clinic days per week, sick clinics, sports medicine clinics, weight and wellness clinic, personal administrative time and educational half days with didactic lectures and patient simulations. 

The third year is the key leadership year when residents spend more than a third of the year supervising the major services at Lurie Children's. The third-year supervisory resident "runs the show" in the manner of a true "resident-run" environment. The remaining portion of the year are spent on Y-weeks and electives. Third year is designed to meet individual goals, whether spent in subspecialty training, research or private practice with a preceptor. Some third-year residents do international electives, including several recent residents who have worked at a hospital in Tanzania.

As the third year comes to an end, residents spend time maximizing proficiency as they prepare for their careers. In the spring of the third year, residents culminate the work on their senior research projects by presenting to the housestaff and pediatric faculty during grand rounds.

Rotations in the third year include:

1. Emergency Department Supervisor: PL-3s work afternoon and evening shifts and function both seeing patients and assisting PL-1s, MS4s and rotators with procedures and decision-making.
2. General Medicine Ward Supervisor: Supervising PL-1s, MS3s and MS4s, the "Gen Med senior" leads a large team providing general pediatric care. This rotation allows the PL-3 significant autonomy to run a service and make independent decisions while providing leadership, organization, and education.
3. Subspecialty Rotations: PL-3 residents are team leaders for a variety of subspecialties. During these rotations, the PL-3 splits time between inpatient care, consultations and outpatient clinics.
4. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: At the Lurie Children's level IV NICU, residents gain experience in caring for a referral population of medically complex neonates. Many of these infants have surgical/anatomic diseases or require extensive medical management for diseases such as congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, meningomyelocele and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. 
5. Cardiology Selective: All third years have the opportunity to rotate for 2 weeks on the Cardiology Consults service and can choose to spend the other two weeks in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) or in outpatient cardiology clinics. This rotation is an excellent opportunity to participate in the care and clinical decision making regarding different cardiac pathologies across various settings. 
6. Electives: A variety of elective options are available at Lurie Children's. Possible electives include sports medicine, dermatology, dentistry, urology, otolaryngology, genetics, pediatric surgery, general academic medicine, anesthesia, radiology, vascular access, orthopedics, ophthalmology, protective service team, infectious disease, and any additional subspecialty clinic as mentioned above.
7. Continuity Clinic Immersive Block: A dedicated block of with 4-6 continuity clinic days per week, sick clinics, sports medicine clinics, weight and wellness clinic, personal administrative time and educational half days with didactic lectures and patient simulations. 
8. Behavior & Development: Interactive experiences in day care, small groups, schools and clinics to foster education in both normal and abnormal developmental patterns, behaviors and management strategies.
9. Senior Project: Under the guidance of a faculty preceptor, PL-3s complete a "senior project" that may be based in clinical or basic research, advocacy or other areas of interest. This requirement provides residents with the experience of becoming an expert in a particular area of medicine and with an appreciation for the complexity of doing quality research.

During residency, residents participate in a night float system, compliant with ACGME work hour guidelines.