Mission

The main goal of the Pediatric Critical Care Training Program at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children is to provide trainees with the necessary skills and knowledge base to provide the highest possible level of critical care to children and to successfully pursue certification in pediatric critical care medicine. This training will be provided in an academic environment that is rigorous, yet friendly and supportive. In addition to clinical skills, trainees will acquire the skills necessary to become excellent educators, receive an introduction to research, and understand the principles of administration. Additionally, trainees will be encouraged to pursue a career that will allow them to positively contribute to the rapidly advancing field of pediatric critical care medicine. The program will be designed to provide career counseling and encouragement to allow all trainees to maximize their contributions to the critical care of children.

Emphasis will be placed on the pathophysiology of acute, life threatening disease and injury and the general principles and physiology of advanced life support. This will include training in, and use of, advanced technologies. Equal emphasis will be placed on clinical and academic skills. Prospective trainees will be required to show excellence in all aspects of clinical care, the ability to work well as a member or leader of a team, and the ability to teach. A commitment to research will also be stressed and the trainees will be exposed to both laboratory and clinical research. Overall, approximately half of the time will be dedicated to clinical experience and half to dedicated research. All trainees and faculty members will receive and be required to review the Guidelines for Program Content for Fellowship Training in Critical Care Medicine (Crit. Care Med 20:875, 1992). The Essentials of Accredited Residencies in Graduate Medical Education will also be distributed and available on our intranet and we are committed to following these guidelines.