Curriculum

Overview

Our program has an 18-month rotating curriculum based on pediatric board content specifications. Our educational didactic curriculum is focused around an academic half-day which preserves dedicated learning centered around the ABP content specifications from a variety of pediatric generalists and subspecialists. In addition, we have longitudinal lectures focused on breastfeeding, developmental pediatrics, and QI. We also have resident-led case conferences or Morbidity and Morality presentations weekly. Patient care is the cornerstone on which all of the educational experiences are built. Core conferences are tied to the main subject for the month as well. This promotes a consistent organized learning pattern that will be covered twice throughout residency. Patient care is the cornerstone on which all of the educational experiences are built. Experiences relate to all aspects of pediatric medicine.

The curriculum incorporates into each resident's education rotations in:

• pediatric critical care
• emergency medicine
• normal newborn care
• adolescent medicine
• behavioral/developmental pediatrics

Subspecialty electives provide the resident an opportunity to manage inpatients, consultations and ambulatory patients.

Throughout the three years, each resident participates in a continuity clinic. Our continuity clinics are a whole day rather than the traditional half-day which provides an improved focus on clinic based learning. This provides a special experience for the resident to observe the physical, emotional and intellectual development of a child over an extended period of time. The resident is the primary care physician to healthy children as well as to those with chronic and acute illnesses. 

The curriculum provides an organized, progressive educational opportunity spanning three years. Clinical care, supervisory and educational responsibilities are commensurate with the resident's experience and abilities. Throughout the curriculum, residents are provided the opportunity to become competent in the performance of many procedures. Satisfactory completion of the program fulfills the qualifications for certification established by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Program Details

Inpatient educational experiences take place at Dayton Children's Hospital. Residents' ambulatory experiences are enhanced by outpatient rotations. These rotations occur in a setting specifically focused on delivering outpatient care to healthy children as well as acutely and chronically ill children. Pediatric residents participate in patient care activities in the inpatient setting, intensive care settings, emergency department and subspecialty clinics at Dayton Children's.

Pediatric residents in the integrated program are able to work at Dayton Children's and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center (WPMC). Through work at both locations, residents treat patients from different ethnic, socioeconomic and geographic settings. Each facility is staffed by a faculty of pediatric generalists and subspecialists who are recruited for their commitment to education. Both sites also provide pediatric training to medical students from the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine and other primary care residency programs in the area.

Intensive care months (Critical Care, Neonatology), the majority of inpatient wards, emergency medicine months and most subspecialty electives are at Dayton Children's Hospital. Ambulatory care and adolescent months occur at WPAFB Pediatric Ambulatory Center. The Normal Newborn month is at WPAFB Medical Center during PL-1 year. Neonatology occurs at Miami Valley Hospital during the PL-1 year.

Educational Opportunities and Lectures

At Dayton Children’s Hospital:

• Pediatric Grand Rounds (weekly)
• Core Conference (based off of the correlating monthly curriculum topic - weekly)
• Resident Case Conference (teaching opportunity for the resident to discuss interesting cases at length - most Tuesdays and Thursdays)
• At Children’s Hospital, there are additionally noon conferences held Tuesdays and Thursdays (on non case conference days) that address a variety of different topics.
• Mock pediatric codes are run in conjunction with ancillary staff (monthly)
• Acute Care Symposium (July and August)
• Tumor Board (Monthly)
• Dedicated Board Review (monthly and end of year)

At the Pediatric Clinic at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base:

• Lectures given by pediatric subspecialists on a regular basis
• Residents run through PALS and NPR scenarios and procedures in our state of the art Air Force Simulation Lab (monthly)
• Resident teaching opportunities on a general pediatrics topic of choice (monthly)

Research

Although completion of a research project is not a mandatory part of the curriculum, participation in research is encouraged. Elective rotations may include research opportunities in a variety of disciplines. Collaboration with faculty can result in ongoing clinical research throughout a resident's curriculum. Resident research endeavors result in opportunities to present findings at national meetings and in peer-reviewed journals.

Additional Opportunities

Residents participate in activities leading to certification for Pediatric Advanced Life Support during their orientation week. The American Board of Pediatrics In-Training Examination provides residents with a yearly measurement of their progress and information to help them tailor their educational experiences. Residents may participate on Professional Staff Committees at The Dayton Children's Hospital, gaining insight into the peer review and quality management activities of pediatricians. Resident representatives are members of the Department of Pediatrics Education Committee, providing an active role in their program development. Annual resident retreats are offered to allow the house staff to reflect on the training program and their experiences. Many important changes have directly resulted from these retreats.