Curriculum

Curriculum

Ambulatory Pediatrics

Residents complete their core rotations in general pediatrics and attend their continuity clinic at the Memorial Health Dwaine & Cynthia Willett Children’s Hospital of Savannah Outpatient Center. During the ambulatory experience, the resident learns to manage the growth and development of the healthy child and treat a wide variety of acute and chronic pediatric illnesses within the context of the medical home.

This experience also involves interaction with social services, nutrition, nursing, and other members of the pediatric team. The resident conducts comprehensive history and physical examinations in a variety of clinical situations and becomes familiar with medications and treatments that are common to outpatient practice. Well-child visits and screening practices are based on the AAP Bright Futures guidelines.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine

The resident works in the dedicated pediatric emergency department and becomes familiar with emergency management of the acutely ill child. Residents are supervised by attendings who are sub-boarded in pediatric emergency medicine.

Residents participate in the identification of illness or injury, the stabilization and treatment of the patient, and the transfer of that patient to the pediatric floor, pediatric intensive care unit or other services. In addition, the resident develops skills in identifying and managing pediatric trauma and pediatric resuscitation alongside Memorial Health University Medical Center's Level 1 Trauma Center.

Inpatient Pediatrics

Residents rotate through the inpatient service during all three years of residency with graduated levels of responsibility. Residents work on the general acute care floor and the pediatric specialty unit and are supervised by pediatric hospitalists or subspecialty attendings.

The resident on the inpatient service learns to evaluate and care for children with disorders requiring inpatient therapy. Residents work in interprofessional teams along with consultants, nutritionists, child life specialists, case management specialists, and social workers.

Neonatology

Residents complete a minimum of four weeks Memorial Health University Medical Center's neonatal intensive care nursery. The resident learns to perform basic history and physical examinations on infants admitted to the NICN and attends high-risk deliveries with the neonatologist, nurse practitioner, and transport team to learn resuscitation and stabilization skills. The resident works with the neonatologist to direct stabilization and transport of sick newborns from outlying hospitals. Residents also participate in procedures common to neonatology. There are several opportunities for additional rotations in the NICU for residents who are interested in pursuing neonatology fellowship or for those who want more experience stabilizing infants following delivery.

Residents rotate through the pediatric ICU during the PGY1 and PGY2 years and are supervised by attendings boarded in pediatric critical care medicine.

The pediatric resident obtains a firm knowledge in the care and assessment of the critically ill child from infancy through adolescence. The resident learns to recognize, stabilize, and manage the care of the acutely ill child, including infection, neurologic, cardiac, pulmonary, and/or traumatic multi-system failure.

The resident learns to apply principles and pathophysiology to the critically ill child and learns a full range of techniques and procedures, including airway management and invasive hemodynamic monitoring skills. The resident understands the multidisciplinary approach to the care of the critically ill child and the roles played by each service in the overall management of the child's illness and support of the family's needs.

Pediatric Intensive Care Experience

Residents rotate through the pediatric ICU during the PGY1 and PGY2 years and are supervised by attendings boarded in pediatric critical care medicine. The pediatric resident obtains a firm knowledge in the care and assessment of the critically ill child from infancy through adolescence. The resident learns to recognize, stabilize, and manage the care of the acutely ill child, including infection, neurologic, cardiac, pulmonary, and/or traumatic multi-system failure. The resident learns to apply principles and pathophysiology to the critically ill child and learns a full range of techniques and procedures, including airway management and invasive hemodynamic monitoring skills. The resident understands the multidisciplinary approach to the care of the critically ill child and the roles played by each service in the overall management of the child's illness and support of the family's needs.

Normal Newborn Experience

Residents rotate through the newborn nursery during the PGY1 year and are supervised by an academic generalist attending. During this rotation, the resident learns all aspects of normal newborn care and learns to distinguish well from sick infants. The resident is able to identify high-risk infants and plan for appropriate intervention. Common anomalies, birth defects, and syndromes are recognized and appropriate referrals made for follow-up care. Residents are able to return to the newborn nursery in PGY-3 as part of their individualized curriculum.

Adolescent Medicine Experience

This experience constitutes at least one month of the residency. During this rotation, the resident becomes familiar with evaluating and managing common issues, concerns, and problems of adolescents; understanding adolescent growth and development; obtaining a thorough history from adolescents and their parent(s); and performing an appropriate physical examination.

The resident will increase awareness of public health issues for adolescents and recognize the importance of family, school, and social influence on the development and health of adolescents.

Subspecialties

Hematology/Oncology

Residents complete four weeks of inpatient hematology/oncology in their first two years, with additional options for outpatient hematology/oncology electives.

Residents are supervised by attendings boarded in pediatric hematology and oncology and work in The Memorial Health Willett Children's Hospital Outpatient Center and the pediatric specialty care unit. The resident learns to recognize and understand normal age-specific hematologic findings and learns historic physical and laboratory findings leading to a hematologic or oncologic abnormality. The resident also has ample opportunities to practice skills in lumbar punctures during this rotation. The resident learns various strategies of treatment and their associated risks/limitations, as well as how to treat toxicities associated with therapy. The resident learns to recognize hematologic and oncologic emergencies and implement appropriate therapeutic actions, becomes aware of common side effects of chemotherapeutic agents and becomes familiar with supportive care issues.

Community Pediatrics

Residents experience longitudinal instruction in community pediatrics throughout the three years of residency. Residents learn about vulnerable populations, cultural competency, and advocacy through rotations at Savannah’s Federally Qualified Health Center and interactions with community partners.

Other Electives

In addition to the core curriculum and the above subspecialties, electives are available in:

• Pediatric Allergy-immunology
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Pediatric Infectious Disease
• Pediatric Nephrology
• Pediatric Neurology
• Pediatric Ophthalmology
• Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery
• Pediatric Otolaryngology
• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Pediatric Sedation
• Pediatric Surgery
• Palliative Care
• Private Practice/Outpatient General Pediatrics
• Sports Medicine

Rotation Schedule

The program adheres to the 2025 ACGME Program Requirements for Graduate Medical Education in Pediatrics.

Call Schedule

Our pediatric residency program complies with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requirements for resident work hours. All call is in-house with varying degrees of responsibility, depending on the rotation and year of training.

On any night there is at least one intern and one senior resident (PGY2 or PGY3, a Pediatric Critical Care attending, and an Emergency Medicine physician in-house. Attending support is available from critical care, pediatric faculty, and subspecialty attendings.

The night shift intern admits patients to the pediatric ward for the general pediatric service and for subspecialists. The intern also responds to acute issues for pediatric ward patients. The intern has direct supervision from a third-year supervising night shift resident.

The PGY2 night shift resident admits all patients to the pediatric intensive care unit and responds to acute issues in the unit.

The PGY3 night shift supervisor evaluates all patients admitted by the night shift intern and provides support and supervision. Night shift hours are 5:00pm – 6:30pm, Sunday through Thursday.

Upper-level residents take weekend call either:

1. Friday, 5:00pm to Saturday 6:30am, then Sunday, 7:00am – 5:00pm
2. Saturday, 6:30am to Sunday, 7:00am

Upper levels have an average of 13 calls per year.