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 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 service. 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 Experience

Residents complete a minimum of two educational units in 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.

Behavioral/Developmental Experience

Residents complete six weeks of behavioral and developmental pediatrics during the intern year. The resident learns normal and abnormal child behavior and development. The resident also develops the skills necessary to interview parents and children and use that information to develop management strategies for developmental disabilities and special needs. The resident becomes familiar with psychosocial and developmental screening techniques and their interpretation.

Pediatric Intensive Care Experience

Residents rotate through the pediatric ICU during the PGY-1 and PGY-2 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 PGY-1 and PGY-3 years 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.

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 and outpatient hematology and oncology during the intern year, and two weeks during the PGY-2 year. 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 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.

Cardiology

Residents may choose to complete a cardiology elective during the PGY-2 or PGY-3 years. Residents are supervised by pediatric cardiologists at the Savannah Children’s Heart Center. During this subspecialty experience, the resident develops an understanding of the classification of heart disease (both congenital and acquired) in infants, children, and adolescents, including innocent murmurs, arrhythmias, syncope, chest pain, and complex congenital heart disease. The resident develops skills in the physical examination and diagnosis of patients with suspected heart disease, as well as the appropriate management, referral, and ongoing follow-up in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.

Gastroenterology

Residents may choose to complete a gastroenterology elective during the PGY-2 or PGY-3 years. The resident works in the inpatient and outpatient setting and is supervised by a pediatric gastroenterologist. The resident learns symptoms, diagnosis, and therapy of specific diseases of the upper and lower G.I. tract. The resident also learns diagnosis and therapy of specific liver diseases, including infectious hepatitis, biliary atresia, paucity of the interlobular bile ducts, metabolic liver disease, and toxin-induced liver injury.

Endocrinology

Residents may choose to complete an endocrinology elective during the PGY-2 or PGY-3 years. The resident works in the inpatient setting and in the endocrine clinic at the Memorial Health Willett Children’s Hospital Outpatient Center. This unit provides a comprehensive experience involving the treatment of children with metabolic disease, diabetes mellitus, growth abnormalities, endocrine disorders, and metabolic bone disease.

Neurology

Residents may choose to complete a neurology elective during the PGY-2 or PGY-3 year. Residents see patients in the outpatient setting at Savannah Neurology Specialists and care for patients admitted to the inpatient unit. Residents are supervised by pediatric neurologists. The resident develops a structured neurologic approach to physical examination and diagnosis. The inpatient neurologic evaluation of critical illness and neonatal neurology are stressed. The resident develops knowledge of seizure classification, diagnosis, and treatment. In addition, residents develop an understanding of the neurological basis of developmental and congenital disorders, headache, and other outpatient neurological 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 during the PGY-1 and PGY-2 years. In additional, residents complete their community pediatrics curriculum during their community pediatrics rotation in the third year. The community pediatrics curriculum is based on the consensus statement of the Dyson Initiative regarding competency in community pediatrics.

Other Electives

In addition to the core curriculum and the above subspecialties, electives are available in orthopaedics/sports medicine, allergy-immunology, pulmonology, infectious disease, ophthalmology, ENT, pediatric surgery, pediatric radiology, anesthesia, procedural sedation, urology, child abuse and neglect, and private practice pediatrics.

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 Experience

Residents complete a minimum of two educational units in 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.

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 and PGY3 years 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.

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 and outpatient hematology and oncology during the intern year, and two weeks during the PGY2 year.

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 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

• orthopedics/sports medicine
• allergy-immunology
• infectious disease
• ophthalmology
• pediatric surgery
• pediatric radiology
• procedural sedation
• urology

Rotation Schedule

Pediatric Level 1

*Two weeks of these rotations consist of orientation.

Pediatric Level 2

Pediatric Level 3

Selective Experience

These are ACGME/RRC required one-month block rotations. You must complete a minimum of four.

• Allergy/Immunology
• Cardiology
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Hematology/Oncology (competed in core rotations)
• Neurology
• Pulmonology

You must complete a minimum of three additional educational units consisting of single subspecialties or combinations of subspecialties. Experiences may include the list above or the following:

• Anesthesia
• Child/Adolescent Psychiatry
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopaedics
• Otolaryngology
• Radiology
• Sports Medicine
• Surgery
• Child Abuse (two-week elective)
• Infectious Diseases (two-week elective)

Elective Experience that is Non-ACGME Approved

• Private Practice/Practice Management
• Urology
• Sedation