Curriculum and Rotations

Adolescent Medicine (2 weeks)

• In this rotation, you’ll get training in the full range of adolescent general medical and surgical issues, including birth control, prenatal care and counseling, drug and alcohol abuse, sexually transmitted diseases and adolescent mental health. You’ll see teenagers and young adults in community-based clinics. You’ll also get exposure to the adolescent eating disorders, care of transgender patients and weight management programs at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.

Y Block (12 weeks)

• Please see Y Block accordion below for more information.

Inpatient Pediatrics (10–12 weeks)

You'll work a combination of days and nights:

• PGY-1 residents act as the primary contact for the patient, families, consultants and nursing staff. The Hospitalist Medicine teams see the full breadth of pediatrics care. This experience combines exposure to general pediatric and subspecialty problems — the common as well as the rare — at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.
• PGY-1 residents cover a general pediatrics team and either Pulmonology or Gastroenterology sub-specialty teams overnight. 

Well Baby Nursery (2 weeks)

• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Christiana Care Hospital deliver more than 10,000 babies annually. You’ll work in the well-baby nurseries while on a rotation that’s separate from the NICU blocks.
• Attending rounds and didactic conferences are held daily. In addition to managing routine newborn care, you’ll be given extensive experience in counseling parents about their newborns and providing anticipatory guidance. Lactation programs are available at both sites. Full-time, experienced pediatricians will supervise and teach you on this rotation, with additional support by lactation specialists.

Pediatric Emergency Department (4 weeks)

• Emergency Medicine rotations are done at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, which has a Level I Trauma Center (and the only pediatric trauma center in the state of Delaware) designed exclusively for the care of pediatric patients. The Emergency Department logs approximately 50,000 visits annually. It’s staffed by first-, second- and third-year pediatric residents, and is supervised 24 hours a day by full-time faculty members who are board-certified in pediatric emergency medicine.
• You’ll gain experience with a broad range of acute problems and frequent mock codes. Interactive conferences are held weekly, with special training sessions in various procedures. In addition, you’ll interact frequently with surgeons and subspecialists, and you’ll have the opportunity to become involved in emergency medicine-related research projects.

Elective (5 weeks)

• PGY-1 residents get various 1-week and 2-week electives throughout their training. These electives will allow residents to explore different possible career pathways, build mentorship relationships and learn more about subspecialties that are suited to their career goals.

Neonatal ICU (6 weeks)

• Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and the nearby Christiana Hospital are both regional high-risk perinatal centers, with large active neonatal intensive care units. PGY-1 residents rotate through one or both of our NICUs during both day and night shifts. They function as a vital team member and carry a panel of both premature and term infants with a variety of medical conditions. NICU fellows and attending closely supervise and teach our residents daily.

Hematology/Oncology (4–6 weeks)

• PGY-1 residents spend 4 weeks on the hematology and oncology service. Residents will see both patients with hematology and oncology complaints including sickle cell disease, hemophilia, leukemia and much more. Residents also care for patients of the bone marrow transplant unit. Residents are closely supervised by hematology/oncology attendings, fellows and nurse practitioners.

Vacation 

• Interns get a 2-week vacation+ a one-week vacation + about 10 days at the end of intern year. 

Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (2 weeks)

• During this rotation, you’ll work closely with developmental pediatricians, psychologists and psychiatrists at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. You’ll be exposed to problems such as cerebral palsy, autism, learning, ADHD and conduct disorders. You’ll learn to differentiate between normal and abnormal behavior, administer and interpret basic developmental screening tests, and provide anticipatory guidance for families with common concerns related to development. Visits to preschool, elementary and special-needs schools in the surrounding community will ground you in school readiness and community education resources. You will also work closely with child abuse pediatricians to complete consults on suspected physical child abuse, medical neglect and Munchausen by proxy.

Y Block (12 weeks)

• Please see Y Block accordion below for more information.

Admitting Resident (2 weeks)

• During this rotation, the admitting resident hears about every possible admission from the Emergency Department and our pediatric transport team. They help to determine disposition, whether that be admitting the patient to the general floors, subspeciality teams or PICU. They also complete various admissions while other teams complete their daily rounds. They respond to all Rapid Response Teams, Code Blues and Behavioral Emergency Response Teams, and are often the lead physician.

Pediatric Emergency Department (4 weeks)

• Emergency Medicine rotations are done at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware, which has a Level I Trauma Center (and the only pediatric trauma center in the state of Delaware) designed exclusively for the care of pediatric patients. The Emergency Department logs approximately 50,000 visits annually. It’s staffed by first-, second- and third-year pediatric residents, and is supervised 24 hours a day by full-time faculty members who are board-certified in pediatric emergency medicine.
• You will gain experience with a broad range of acute problems and frequent mock codes. Interactive conferences are held weekly, with special training sessions in various procedures. In addition, you’ll interact frequently with surgeons and subspecialists, and you’ll have the opportunity to become involved in emergency medicine-related research projects.

Inpatient Pediatrics (4–8 weeks)

You'll work a combination of days and nights:

• PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents will act as the manager and educator of their team. They will act as the direct supervisors of the inpatient team by coordinating rounds and educating the PGY-1 residents and medical students. The Hospitalist Medicine teams see the full breadth of pediatrics care. This experience combines exposure to general pediatric and subspecialty problems — the common as well as the rare — at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware.
• PGY-2 residents cover a general pediatrics team and either endocrinology/nephrology or neurosurgery sub-specialty teams overnight.

Neonatal ICU (2 weeks)

• Christiana Hospital is a regional high-risk perinatal center, with large active neonatal intensive care units.  PGY-2 residents will work the Christiana’s NICU during the night. They will also gain experience in the delivery rooms caring for patients immediately after birth. They are supervised by a NICU fellow and attending overnight. 

Inpatient Subspecialty (6 weeks)

• As a PGY-2 resident, you will spend 2 weeks on the renal/endocrine, gastroenterology and pulmonology services. You will be the primary contact for the patients, families, nurses and ancillary staff. You will work closely with the subspecialist attending to care for these patients. You will also participate in inpatients consults.

Vacation 

• PGY-2 residents get two 2-week vacations during the year.

Cardiology  (2 weeks)

• PGY-2 residents complete a 2-week rotation in cardiology. One week will be spent in the ambulatory setting learning about common outpatient cardiology complaints such as murmurs, chest pain and dysrhythmias. The second week is spent on the inpatient cardiology floor, where you will care for children with complex congenital heart defects along with completing inpatient consults with the cardiology attendings. 

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) (6 weeks)

• The PICU rotation takes place in the 24-bed unit at the Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. PICU experience will expose you to a full range of acute medical and surgical problems and will help you become skilled in important technical procedures. You will participate in mock codes and learn to counsel parents of critically ill children. You will also become certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) at the beginning of your residency training. During the PICU rotation, you will have your own set of didactics on intensive care target topics.

Delivery Room (2 weeks)

• PGY-2 residents will gain invaluable experience in the delivery room resuscitating newborns. They will attend high-risk deliveries and act as the primary resuscitator of all these neonates. The rotation is heavily supervised by neonatology attendings, fellows and nurse practitioners. Residents will have completed Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) certification.

Hematology/Oncology (2 weeks)

• The PGY-2 residents spend 2 weeks supervising the PGY-1 residents on the hematology/oncology service. Residents will see both patients with hematology and oncology complaints including sickle cell disease, hemophilia, leukemia and much more. Residents also care for patients of the bone marrow transplant unit. Residents are closely supervised by hematology/oncology attendings, fellows and nurse practitioners.

Elective (2 weeks)

• PGY-2 residents get a 2-week elective throughout the year. These electives will allow residents to explore different possible career pathways, build mentorship relationships and learn more about subspecialties that are suited to their career goals.