PHILOSOPHY

Care, education and contribution to medical knowledge are the guiding principles of the department. The care we strive to provide must be excellent and based on the best available evidence. It must also be and be perceived as caring and compassionate. Education and research are important to us because they help us to provide better care. An education program stimulates and inspires teacher and student alike to excel. Our research is inspired by the health problems in the community. We do it to expand medical knowledge and to improve health care for our community.

Our care must also be efficient. Managed care and cost-effectiveness are concepts, which at present are framing and pushing health care delivery. Many physicians are deeply concerned about the impact of the changing health care delivery on the way medicine is practiced and on their way of life. We confidently believe that there is no inherent contradiction between efficient, cost-effective health care and excellence and progress in medicine, medical care and public health.

In fact, the proper use of medical resources is, or should be, defined by the excellent physician using the right amount of resources to provide excellent care. We expect that graduates of our program will understand the changes occurring in health care and will be prepared to play a dispassionate, informed part in improving health care.

We recognize that residency training in pediatrics is intense, demanding and stressful. It is also one of the most rewarding periods of one’s life, and we want you to experience it fully. We know and expect that as you pass through training, with time, you will feel an exhilarating sense of growth and mastery. This sense of growing confidence comes as you realize that you know much more than you did before and can handle more complex and challenging situations. Our goal is to help you achieve this mastery, and to realize that you will experience this growth and development for the rest of your life.

THE PROGRAM

The Department of Pediatrics has about 25 inpatient beds, 5 PICU beds and 30 beds in the NICU. Currently, we have approximately 40 full-time faculty members, 43 residents with 4 3rd year chief residents. In addition, the Department runs four Ambulatory Care clinics under the Chief of Ambulatory Pediatrics. All admitted patients are managed by pediatric housestaff under faculty supervision.

OUR PROGRAM RESTS ON THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES:

• A firm commitment to hands-on bedside teaching. The most stimulating and best-remembered lessons in medicine are derived from direct patient care.
• A dedicated faculty
• A philosophy of innovation and resident participation in developing the content of the program. We are constantly evaluating and trying new approaches to learning and patient care. We adapt what works and discard what doesn’t. We regard residents’ participation in program development as a serious function. The housestaff formally contributes as members of many of the department’s committees and through the evaluation process, and informally, through discussion with the attending staff, chief residents, program leadership and chairman.

EXAMPLES OF INNOVATIONS INCLUDE:

• Interactive Workshops on Communication and Cultural Sensitivity (IWOCCS). The use of role playing, videos, round table discussion and one-on-one teaching to develop skills in dealing with topics such as: basic communication skills (including body language, gestures, eye contact and voice tone), cultural sensitivity, spirituality, dealing with the adolescent patient, psychiatric cases, sexual and physical abuse, dealing with difficult patients and parents, appropriate interaction with colleagues, supervisors and other health care workers, complimentary medicine, family structure/hierarchy, and patient/provider relationships.
• The development of a division of bio-statistics and epidemiology within the department. Residents receive instruction on how to evaluate the medical literature and the division also provides support for research activities in the department.
• Training in Evidence Based Medicine, including literature searching, retrieval and analysis and applying the medical literature to specific clinical situations.
• Training in the use of computers for literature reviews and data management
• Training in the art of effective presentations
• Scientific seminars: distinguished scientists are invited to the department to discuss their work
• There are also weekly Grand Rounds, Journal Club, Morbidity and Mortality Conferences, a monthly resident meeting and an intensive Board Review course

HANDS-ON-LEARNING:

We are committed to training residents who will constantly pursue excellence and strive to provide a challenging yet supportive atmosphere, where autonomy and supervision are in dynamic balance. Examples of this experience include:

• Bedside teaching rounds conducted seven days a week with faculty
• Subspecialty consultants from all fields of pediatrics round daily. During the second and third year, residents participate in subspecialty services
• Rotations in the emergency service department that provide the diversity and acuity of care that can only be expected in a big city hospital Emergency Department