The Program Evaluation Committee consists of program leadership, faculty representation
from all core rotations, chief residents, and 2 elected resident representatives from
each class. The committee truly values the input from our trainees, meeting monthly
to ensure the best educational curriculum is provided to our residents.
A well-rounded and comprehensive pediatric education, along with high-quality health
care for children of the mid-south, are the goals of the Pediatric Residency Program.
To ensure that the best educational program is provided for all residents, the program's
curriculum, requirements and activities are continually reevaluated by the Program
Evaluation Committee. The Program Evaluation Committee consists of faculty members,
pediatricians in private practice, the current and upcoming Chief Residents and elected
resident representatives from each pediatric and medicine-pediatrics class.
Our program uses an X+Y schedule, with 4-week X blocks and 2-week Y blocks. Residents
only attend continuity clinic on their Y blocks, which means residents do not have
to go to continuity clinic during inpatient wards or ICU months. This improves resident’s
ability to provide their attention and focus to their current rotation.
Inpatient PediatricsOur inpatient teams are resident run, with 2 upper level residents supervising 3-4
interns, all under the supervision of our hospitalist attendings. Resident teams all
cover general pediatric patients admitted to the hospital, as well as specific subspecialty
patients assigned to each team. This allows early and frequent exposure to multiple
pediatric subspecialties, without having to utilize individualized curriculum time.
Our night float system means no 24 hour calls, and allows third year residents autonomy
supervising interns and managing new admissions overnight.This ends up being many
residents’ favorite rotation in residency!
Emergency DepartmentThe LeBonheur Emergency Department is the only ACS Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center
in the region, caring for more than 90,000 children each year. This allows residents
hands-on experience managing a wide range in patient acuity in addition to procedural
skills and trauma evaluations.
NICUResidents spend a total of 2 months during residency, spread out over all 3 years,
at the Regional One Health Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a 65 bed level III NICU.
As the regional referral center for West Tennessee, residents get experience attending
high risk deliveries and managing a wide range of patients from extremely low birth
weight premature infants to complex congenital anomalies. Residents get opportunities
to perform a variety of procedures including intubations, umbilical lines, arterial
blood draws, and lumbar punctures. Upper level residents work a night float system,
with an average of 5 to 7 nights during the rotation in second and third years. Interns
do not work night shifts in the NICU.Â
PICUThe Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital is a 20-bed unit,
caring for diverse critically ill medical and surgical patients, including extracorporeal
(ECMO, CRRT) support. Residents gain experience diagnosing and managing critical illnesses,
and hone their procedural skills during the 2 months in the PICU. Residents work on
a night float system, covering 5-7 nights each block in the PICU.
Hematology/OncologyAll second year residents spent a total of 8 weeks at St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital, learning about the care of pediatric hematology and oncology patients from
the world’s experts. Residents rotate on inpatient teams and through the outpatient
clinics to get exposure to both the acute and chronic aspects of pediatric cancer
treatment.
Well Baby NurserySplit between first and second year, residents care for well, full term infants at
Regional One Health. Residents become experts in the newborn physical exam and counseling
parents on the care of their infants.
Ambulatory PedsResidents attend continuity clinic 5 half-days during their 2 week Y blocks. Residents
have the option of doing their continuity clinic in the community with one of our
private practice partners. No matter where residents’ continuity clinic is, all residents
rotate through the LeBonheur Outpatient Center during ambulatory outpatient months,
consisting of a mixture of general pediatrics clinics, subspecialty clinics, and time
spent with ancillary services. Upper level residents get experience taking after-hours
calls during this rotation, on average one-two weeks during the year.
Community PedsSplit between first and third year, residents have the opportunity to explore community
resources and engage in educational events with local schools and organizations.
AdolescentResidents get dedicated experience caring for this special pediatric population. The
rotation includes experiences at LeBonheur Outpatient Center Eating Disorder Clinic,
Adolescent Gynecology clinic at Regional One Health, and providing primary care visits
and acute visits for teenagers residing at Youth Villages facilities.
Subspecialty RotationsAll residents do 4 week rotations in Infectious Disease and Cardiology. Both subspecialty
rotations consist of both inpatient and outpatient experiences, with no night shifts.
Our cardiology rotation gives residents exposure to our newly expanded Heart Institute,
providing specialized care to children with congenital and acquired heart disease.Â
Individualized Curriculum (IC)IC time is used to help residents individualize their residency experience, tailoring
their curriculum to their specific career interests. IC time increases each year allowing
for more opportunities to explore career tracts or gain exposure to other fields.
There is IC time on both X and Y blocks. Examples of ICs include allergy/immunology,
endocrinology, gastroenterology, genetics, Child Abuse Pediatrics, nephrology, neurology,
palliative care, pulmonology, rheumatology, anesthesia, child/adolescent psychiatry,
complex care, dermatology, radiology, sports medicine, bone marrow transplant, St.
Jude palliative/ID/pain management, board review, research, culinary medicine, delivery
room, MCHILD (medical legal partnership), and transport medicine. Residents are also
allowed to gain additional experience in ICU settings including St. Jude PICU and
LeBonheur NICU or IMCU.Â
The Pediatric Residency Program at The University of Tennessee prepares physicians
for their individual career goals, whether that is practicing general pediatrics,
subspecialty fellowship, or the world of pediatric research and academics. The curriculum
offers a balanced program of experiences at each level of training with increasing
levels of responsibility.