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Pediatric Resident Educational Experiences

We offer a range of educational experiences to help you learn and prepare for practicing medicine after your residency, as well as achieve successful board certification in pediatrics.

Conferences / Lectures -- 2023 - 2024 Academic Year

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
        Pediatric Grand Rounds
8-9 a.m.

Afternoon Conference
12:30-1:30 p.m.

Afternoon Conference
12:30-1:30 p.m.

Afternoon Conference
12:30-1:30 p.m.

Afternoon Conference
12:30-1:30 p.m.

Optional Lecture or
Lunch with Friends

Pediatric Residency Conferences

Our Pediatric Resident Conferences are protected educational conference time for residents. The faculty cover the clinical services during this time.

The curriculum is based on the content specifications created by the American Board of Pediatrics. The curriculum also includes ambulatory Pediatric topics and sessions on quality improvement and patient safety. Formal board review sessions are also held during pediatric afternoon conferences.

During the entire academic year, interns attend conferences on Wednesday afternoons to help them learn the clinical skills needed during internship.  

Our program also utilizes a highly interactive case-based group discussion format called Resident Case Conferences. Each conference is presented by the residents and lasts for 30 minutes. The goal of Resident Case Conferences is to develop the resident’s critical thinking and presentation skills. This includes the ability to obtain a good patient history, understand important physical findings, and analyze laboratory and radiologic studies in order to generate a pertinent differential diagnosis. 

Every Friday morning the residents attend Pediatric Grand Rounds where speakers often come from around the country to share their clinical and research expertise with the audience.

Pediatric Board Review Course

Graduating residents are given the opportunity to attend an on-site pediatric board review course during their last month of residency. Residents may also use their educational allowance to attend an additional board review course during their residency. 

EBM Journal Clubs and Faculty EBM Didactic Sessions

Residents are taught the principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM) concept by the faculty in didactic lectures. The rising chief residents present journal clubs based on these principles.

Resident Morbidity and Mortality (M&M) Conferences

Learning how to analytically review cases is an invaluable skill to develop during residency.   This process enables one to improve patient safety and quality of care. Our hope is to foster an environment of learning through shared investigation of cases that residents themselves select to discuss during morbidity and mortality conferences. These conferences are to review and discuss medical errors in a safe educational environment as this is a resident run and driven forum.

Simulation and In-Situ Training

The simulation center and in-situ scenarios have been designed to teach residents how to develop team leadership skills and how to improve communication among healthcare team members during acute pediatric emergencies.

Residents attend “Pediatric Boot Camp” as part of Intern Orientation. The procedures taught at “Boot Camp” are bag valve mask ventilation, intravenous access, intubation, and lumbar puncture. Interns also practice scenarios where they learn how to present patients during family centered rounds, document in the EHR, provide formal hand-offs during transitions in care, and use clinical pathways. Residents also continue to refine their physical examination skills.

Residents are assigned to attend sessions in the simulation center during their Term Newborn and Pediatric Emergency Medicine rotations throughout their residency. During the simulation sessions residents learn and practice procedures. They also practice resuscitation scenarios where they are assigned roles as members of the health care team. At the end of the simulation case, a debriefing session is held where all team members discuss their communication and team skills and how to improve them. All members of the healthcare team reflect and self-assess their own communication and team skills and provide feedback to each other. Residents also are taught how to deliver “bad news” during some of these sessions by our Palliative Care team.

In-situ scenarios are held in the pediatric intensive care unit, emergency department and on the inpatient floors to improve communication among healthcare team members. Residents act as the medical team leader on cases they may encounter in these locations, while working with other healthcare providers as part of the multi-disciplinary team. The use of communication skills, including the “Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendation” (SBAR model) is promoted. After the in-situ scenario, a faculty member facilitates a debriefing session for all members of the multi-disciplinary team to discuss methods of improving communication and team skills.

Academic Advising Program

An academic advising program is in place to ensure residents transition smoothly into a career in pediatrics. Each resident is paired with a volunteer faculty advisor who provides support and guidance. The program’s goals include helping residents prepare for the American Board of Pediatrics Certification Examination.  The advisor helps the resident to set goals for their individualized learning plan and works with the resident to help them develop an individualized master schedule that meets their learning needs and career goals. The academic advisor also reviews the resident’s performance on monthly rotations and serves as the resident’s advocate.

Night Shift Education Opportunities

One new opportunity for learning is our Nighttime Curriculum through the website PHM After Dark (found on phmafterdark.com). This website contains podcasts done by one of our very own former residents and now attendings, Dr Tom Mike! An ongoing resident QI project involves adding to this website through materials such as PowerPoints, outlines, games and more. Residents staff the hospitalist and specialty teams during the day and at night making this a quick and fun way to learn during a week of nights.  

Residents and Teachers and Leaders Curriculum

The residency program focuses on promoting our residents’ teaching and leadership skills.  Interns learn to and practice teaching skills throughout the academic year.  They receive official status of Clinical Instructors at Northeast Ohio Medical University.  Residents enhance their teaching and leadership skills at their second-year resident retreat.  Residents who are interested in expanding their teaching skills can also take a Teaching elective during their PL 3 year.

 

Other Available Conferences/Educational Opportunities

  • Tumor Board (weekly)
  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine City-Wide Conference (monthly)
  • PICU Lecture Series for Residents 
  • Palliative Care Conference (monthly)
  • Schwartz Rounds
  • Annual Wellness Conference

Community Medicine Rotation/Activities

The goal of this rotation is to provide a variety of experiences with our community partners that will introduce the interns to services provided in Summit County that promote the well-being of our children and their families.  A few of the experiences provided during this rotation includes participation in Lead Clinic, traveling to a rural clinic devoted to treating the Amish population, visiting a migrant clinic in the summer months, working with our Legal Aid Lawyer, and visiting institutions that help refugees relocate to our community. During this rotation interns will also participate in small group discussions with faculty about diversity, racism and social determinants of health. It is our hope that our residents will develop an understanding of how social determinants of health play a role in the development and health of children and empower the residents to serve as advocates in the community during residency training and after graduating from the program.  

Resident Well-Being Program and Resources

Continuous wellness opportunities are available to residents through Akron Children's Hospital's wellness program

Residents are part of the Akron Physician Wellness Initiative which provides free, confidential behavioral wellness services to medical and house staff of Akron Children's Hospital and house staff of Summa Health exclusively.  This service is free (insurance is not billed).  There is no limit to the number of sessions residents can attend.

Services include:

  • Private individual counseling for a variety of personal and professional concerns. In-person and telehealth appointments available
  • Psychiatric consultation and medication management
  • Referral coordination and resource provision
  • Wellness promotion and educational sessions for departments and programs

The resident wellness series occurs on a monthly basis during a scheduled resident afternoon conference. The series has behavioral and cognition components some of which includes meditation, Reiki, yoga, and mindfulness.

The favorite component of the residents’ well-being program is “Wellness Wednesdays”.  Every resident on electives has Wednesday afternoons off to meet their personal needs.

Exercise is a great way to promote both physical and mental well-being. To make it easier for our residents to participate in regular exercise, we provide free memberships to Cleveland Clinic Akron General Health & Wellness Centers in Bath, Green and Stow. These centers are located 15 minutes, south, east, and west, of the hospital.

The residency program has the interns participate in the RISHI Tending the Flame course throughout the year.  This is a course in resiliency and work satisfaction for clinicians and graduate program learners.

What next?

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There are 10 nurses in the picture.

And we have many more pediatric primary care providers in Northeast Ohio. You can meet some of them here.
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The five differences are:
– Phone color
– Coat pocket
– Stethoscope earpiece color
– Stethoscope bell dot
– Clipboard paper color

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The two matching doctors are 9 and 14.

With virtual visits, you can see our pediatric experts from the comfort of home or wherever you are.
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The correct path:
The Correct Path
We offer many ways to get pediatric care all over Northeast Ohio. Use this page to find the right kind of care and the most convenient location for you.