Program Description & Goals

Educational Goals

The goal of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Program is to train fellows to become the future generation of critical care physicians who will provide skilled clinical care to critically ill and injured children, advance the science through research and innovation, and develop skills to educate other physicians and health care providers. The program trains physicians who will serve as future leaders in the field of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.

Program Description

The fellowship is designed to prepare physicians for a career in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. The goals and objectives are achieved through direct patient care, supervision of resident and student clinical care, and a comprehensive curriculum that includes conferences, didactic lectures, courses, hands on learning activities and workshops. This process occurs over the course of the three year program, with fellows assuming greater responsibility while being monitored and mentored by members of the faculty.

Goals of the program include

• Develop the core knowledge of the biology of acute, life-threatening disease and injury that may affect the pediatric critical care population.
• Acquire expertise in the clinical assessment and management of critically ill and injured children.
• Acquire the technical skills to proficiently perform procedures essential to the practice of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.
• Learn fundamental research skills by mentored clinical or laboratory research, formal coursework in methodology and regular faculty review.

Global Objectives

Patient Care

• Participate as a member of the critical care team providing direct patient care for eight months in the first year, six months in the second year and four months in the third year.
• Demonstrate satisfactory procedural skills and document procedures accomplished throughout training in individual procedure log.
• Demonstrate the skills in clinical diagnosis, patient assessment and clinical management necessary to care for critically ill patients.
• Apply physiologic monitoring and special technology in the ICU setting.
• Provide support and advocacy to the ICU patient and their family.

Medical Knowledge

• Attend required learning activities that focus on the medical knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to practice Pediatric Critical Care Medicine effectively.
• Demonstrate an investigatory and analytical approach to clinical situations.
• Demonstrate understanding of the ethical considerations that apply to critically ill and injured children.
• Complete the annual subspecialty in-training examinations to demonstrate knowledge in the field of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.

Practice-Based Learning and Improvement

• Participate in evidence based medicine journal clubs and conferences aimed at appraisal of clinical studies on diagnostic and therapeutic effectiveness.
• Use information technology to access medical information utilized in conference presentations and case discussions.
• Participate in multidisciplinary protected case reviews and case conferences.
• Complete Quality Improvement and Journal Club projects.
•  Facilitate the learning of medical students, residents and allied health care providers.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills

• Demonstrate caring and respectful behaviors when interacting with patients and their families.
• Demonstrate the ability to work effectively with others as a member or leader of the critical care team.
• Appropriately document the medical record with timely sign-off of entries.

Professionalism

• Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to patients' culture, age, gender and disabilities.
• Demonstrate a commitment to ethical principles pertaining to the provision or withholding of care in the critical care unit.
• Promptly complete evaluations.
• Maintain individual procedure and duty hour logs.
• Complete required research, quality improvement and protected case review projects.

Systems-Based Practice

• Request appropriate medical and surgical consultations for patients in the ICU.
• Interact with the multi-disciplinary care team to coordinate safe and effective patient care.
• Demonstrate understanding of the medical-legal considerations that apply to critically ill and injured children.
• Complete a Protected Case Review project.