Clinical Rotations

Clinical training occurs on all three campuses during the three-year experience. In the first and second years, the emphasis is on the clinical care and follow-up of the critically ill neonate. During the first year, the planning and initiation of scholarly activity is encouraged and supported. The first-year fellows have six months of clinical rotations, which includes one month at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital Surgical NICU and the remainder split between Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Christiana Hospital.

The second-year rotations include one month at each of the three Neonatal Intensive Care units, plus a month of Perinatology with the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at Christiana Hospital or Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

During the third year, fellows again spend one month at each of the three NICUs and an additional month in the Cardiothoracic Unit at the duPont Hospital for Children. This gives a total of 14 clinical months during the 36-month fellowship. The remaining months are dedicated to research and other scholarly activities. 

Electives

Elective time is available in the second and third year of fellowship training. Fellows are encouraged to do a rotation in Genetics to expand their knowledge of the newest techniques in Molecular Genetics and Prenatal Counseling for families with an antenatal diagnosis of anomalies in the fetus. Other electives are available in Teratology, Infectious Disease, Neurology, Gastroenterology, and Radiology.

Follow-Up Experience

Fellows in neonatology will be assigned to attend a high-risk follow-up clinic to evaluate infants they previously treated in the intensive care nursery. The goal is to learn the developmental problems that may arise following the discharge of a previously critically ill neonate. These two programs, Special Babies at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Child Development Watch Clinic at Christiana Care, see more than 1,500 high-risk infants annually—providing the fellow with a rich and varied experience.