Pediatric Residency

Training Sequence

The American Board of Pediatrics requires that every pediatric resident complete three years of training. Our program offers the following rotation schedule:

PGY-1

The “intern” year is designed to expose the resident to a wide range of pediatric problems. The first-year resident is considered the primary caregiver for those patients who are on his or her service. The NICU experience is devoted to gaining familiarity with premature and other ill newborn patients and their management. Initially, the intern is closely supervised by a senior resident, and given increasing autonomy as the year progresses. Interns are responsible for supervising medical students on the inpatient units. First-year residents take call every fourth night.

PGY-2

The second year involves managing increasingly ill children, especially in the PICU and the NICU. The role of the PGY-2 resident on the inpatient units is that of a supervisor. Several months of required and elective subspecialties are provided to expose the resident to more specific and difficult pediatric problems.

PGY- 3

The final year of pediatric training is geared toward preparing the resident for his or her future career, be it in primary care pediatrics or fellowship training. The inpatient and outpatient experiences are supervisory in nature, with a considerable amount of time devoted to teaching the junior residents, interns, and medical students. The residents have a great deal of autonomy in management in the general pediatrics inpatient unit along with both the PICU and NICU. Several months of elective time are provided to ensure a well-rounded education prior to leaving Cooper.

Program Schedule/Electives

Each rotation represents one month

PGY–1
Inpatient General Pediatrics
Inpatient General Pediatrics
NICU
Inpatient General Pediatrics
Emergency Department
Outpatient General Pediatrics
Inpatient General Pediatrics
Outpatient General Pediatrics
Full -Term Nursery
Community Pediatrics
Full -Term Nursery
Developmental Pediatrics

PGY–2
Emergency Department
Elective
PICU
Outpatient General Pediatrics
Elective
Elective
NICU
Adol Med
Outpatient General Pediatrics
Inpatient General Pediatrics*
Elective
PICU

PGY–3
Inpatient General Pediatrics*
Outpatient General Pediatrics*
Elective
Outpatient General Pediatrics*
NICU
Full -Term Nursery
Outpatient General Pediatrics/Night Float
Inpatient General Pediatrics*
Night Float*
Emergency Department
Elective
Elective

* Supervisory Role

Electives

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires that a minimum of four one-month rotations be completed by each resident, selected from among the following core pediatric subspecialties:

  • Allergy/Immunology
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Cardiology
  • Nephrology
  • Endocrinology/Metabolism
  • Neurology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Pulmonology
  • Genetics
  • Rheumatology
  • Hematology/Oncology

In addition, our full-time faculty offers pediatric electives in:

  • Anesthesia
  • Pediatric Radiology
  • Child Psychiatry
  • Pediatric Surgery/
  • Dermatology
  • Urology
  • Otolaryngology

Training Rounds and Conferences

Our program is built upon daily teaching opportunities that are both formal and informal in nature. Our schedule attempts to integrate bedside learning with a comprehensive program of structured conferences. Conferences attended by all residents, year-round, include:

Pediatric Grand Rounds
A weekly conference, these rounds feature topics presented by both full-time faculty and visiting professors. Attendees include house staff, faculty, pediatricians in private practice, nurses, and a variety of ancillary support staff.

Chief’s Rounds
Occurring weekly, this conference is run by the residents and offers the opportunity to present an interesting case to the residents and faculty. This exercise teaches the residents to generate a differential diagnosis and management strategy.

Friday Conference
A 90 minute session designed to cover the majority of topics in pediatrics and to make residents more independent learners. Assigned reading and questions are completed by each resident prior to the session, where they are discussed with faculty in an interactive fashion. This conference has been very well received by the residents.

Morbidity and Mortality Conference
This monthly conference is presented by a 3rd year resident. The goal of this conference is to identify systems issues and make recommendations for changes in the system that improve patient safety.

Pediatric Radiology
Images are available digitally and reviewed on rounds for each inpatient unit. Studies are reviewed with one of the pediatric radiologists on a regular basis. A formal conference where interesting cases are discussed occurs bimonthly.

Pediatric Pathology
Cases are presented to our pediatric pathologist, who reviews the gross and/or histologic specimens of cases. Clinical follow-up including diagnosis and prognosis of each patient is discussed.

Competency Based Evaluation
The program has a series of evaluations and tasks that are completed for each resident to evaluate a resident’s competence. The process includes assembling a portfolio of these tasks each year and reflecting on what has been accomplished by completing a self assessment. Residents meet with their advisor and the program director to review their progress and to make goals for the next 6 months.

Journal Club
Based on the principles of evidence-based medicine, this series of conferences is designed to teach residents to critically evaluate and apply the medical literature to patient care. Each 2nd and 3rd year resident presents Journal Club. Faculty are actively involved in both conferences to guide the residents through the process.

Retreats
Two resident retreats are held annually at an off-site location. One retreat is designated as a learning retreat and one for camaraderie and relaxation. Recent topics for retreats have included evidence- based medicine and teaching residents to be effective teachers.

Morning Report
Morning Report is held two times per week and is a forum for discussion of admissions to all services. In addition to the residents on the inpatient service, all residents on-site are required to attend. General pediatrics and subspecialty faculty are present for the discussion. During the inpatient unit rotations, residents also attend the following:

Resident Rounds
The floor team, which consists of two senior residents, two to three interns, and medical students, is responsible for conducting rounds and determining patient management. These rounds are led by the senior residents with assistance from faculty.

CLICK HERE to download, view and print the complete Pediatrics residency brochure Adobe Acrobat

Contact Information

Director: William R. Graessle, M.D.
Contact: Jeanne Lanzo or Ramonita Ortiz
Phone: (856) 757-7904
Fax: (856) 968-9598
Email: lanzo-jeanne@cooperhealth.edu or ortiz-ramonita@cooperhealth.edu
Address: Cooper University Hospital, UMDNJ-RWJMS at Camden, 401 Haddon Avenue, Camden, NJ 08103