Critical Care Medicine Elective

Objectives

• Introduce students to the pathophysiology of critical illness in children and how an understanding of physiology influences management and treatment of critically ill children in the PICU
• Learn and continue to improve critical thinking and communication skills that facilitate an organized approach to complex medical data
• Introduce students to a multidisciplinary model of patient care in the PICU

Description

• Observe and participate in the system for transport, stabilization and tertiary care management of children with acute life-threatening emergencies
• Examine patients and actively participate in the care of patients in the PICU
• Observe and participate in invasive and non-invasive monitoring of patients in the PICU – including patients with severe central nervous system injury, hemodynamic instability, respiratory failure, and post operative management of patients after congenital heart surgery
• Participate in the multidisciplinary approach to patient management by interacting professionally with members of various disciplines in the care of critically ill patients
• Actively participate in educational activities in the PICU including preparing and presenting a short review of an ICU topic.

Typical daily schedule

• Examine patients and gather patient data
• Formulate patient assessment and plan
• Formal morning rounds with ICU team
• Noon conference / other educational conferences
• Admit/transfer patients in the PICU
• Follow-up on plan of care of patient from rounds
• Sign out of patients to on-call team

Night Call/Special Requirements

You are required to spend at least one night call per week with a PICU senior resident, with one of the call days being a Saturday.