Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship

Established in 1973, the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh is a three-year, ACGME-approved training program accredited by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Fellows will gain in-depth medical knowledge, technical skills, and clinical experience necessary to provide comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for critically ill children. Areas of focus include neurological and neuromuscular diseases, respiratory and cardiac diseases, trauma, multiple organ dysfunction and organ transplantation, critical care nephrology as well as the care of children with sepsis, viral and toxin-related infections, and other forms of critical illness. Among the 20 pediatric critical care medicine trained faculty in the Department of Critical Care Medicine, 8 faculty are dually trained in other subspecialties, including adult critical care medicine, cardiology, clinical informatics, infectious diseases, and nephrology. 

Portable High-Speed CT Scanner 

Our goal is to develop pediatric intensivists with the skills and experience to pursue successful academic careers. We offer extensive opportunities for dedicated research training, with the majority of our pediatric critical care faculty holding NIH grants. A typical fellow will spend 17 months engaged in research and other scholarly activities.

Fellows have the opportunity to serve as transport command physicians
Mission statement

The mission of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Program is to educate and train fellows to provide compassionate, appropriate and effective care for critically ill patients, to learn and demonstrate effective interpersonal and communication skills, to develop behaviors that reflect a commitment to continuous professional development, ethical practice, and an understanding and sensitivity to diversity and a responsible attitude toward their patients, their profession and society, and to use scientific evidence and methods to investigate, evaluate and improve patient care practices.

Application, Interview, and Match

Our program participates in the National Resident Matching Program for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Applications for the pediatric critical care fellowship are accepted through the AAMC Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Please visit ERAS for application requirements, deadlines, ERAS tools and worksheets, and submission.

Interviews typically occur from August through November. Highly qualified applicants will be contacted by our Office of Education to schedule an interview date.

INTERVIEWS

In-person interviews typically occur from August through November. Highly qualified applicants will be contacted by our Office of Education to schedule an interview date.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

All trainees must obtain a graduate medical training license and be current in PALS, ACLS, and ATLS. We will contact successful candidates shortly after the match to begin this process. 

Clinical experience/rotation schedule

Most training occurs at the UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP), which is located in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Lawrenceville, less than two miles from the University of Pittsburgh’s Oakland complex. CHP has 48 critical care beds across two separate units:

  • Pediatric ICU – a 36-bed unit staffed by over 17 pediatric intensivists, admitting more than 3,000 children a year
  • Pediatric Cardiac ICU – Comprised of a 12-bed unit, as well as a 21-bed acuity adaptable unit staffed by pediatric cardiac intensivists. We have over 400 admissions and approximately 200-300 cardiopulmonary bypass cases a year.

After an initial one-month orientation in July, most fellows complete 13 months in the PICU, five months in the CICU, and one month of Anesthesiology, with the remaining months dedicated to research training and other scholarly activities. Research months increase each year of fellowship, with an average of four months in the first year, six months in the second year, and eight research months in the third year.

Our multidisciplinary training program employs a mix of hands-on clinical experience, interactive workshops, medical simulation, and didactic education.

Research, Scholarly Activities, & Education Highlights

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Trainees obtain hands-on clinical experience and advanced instruction in:

  • Management of shock, sepsis, acute respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, and other critical illness syndromes
  • Care of children throughout the life-cycle from neonates to adolescents
  • Pathophysiology of critical illness, including advanced cardiopulmonary physiology, hemodynamic monitoring, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
  • Care of children with multisystem organ failure, acute infection, traumatic injury, and post-surgical critical illness
  • Communication skills, including patient and family interaction and end-of-life care
  • Mechanical ventilation, extra-corporeal life support, plasma exchange, and ventricular assist devices
  • ICU procedures including endotracheal intubation, central venous catheterization, and chest-tube placement

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

Unique educational activities include:

  • A month-long orientation in which fellows master procedural skills through high-fidelity simulation as well as participate in multidisciplinary didactic sessions, lectures and conferences
  • A two-day, multi-institution pediatric critical care “boot camp” at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia alongside first-year trainees at programs across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions
  • Hands-on simulation workshops including difficult airway management, central venous catheterization, chest tube placement and point-of-care ultrasound
  • A leadership role in the inter-hospital transport service, serving as transport physicians for unstable patients and acting as the transport command physician for outside hospitals
  • Weekly educational conferences including a structured Fellow Educational Curriculum, Journal Club, Grand Rounds, and Morbidity & Mortality conference, ECMO, CRRT and other clinical and research conferences

EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS

Pediatric Neurocritical Care Fellowship

Fellows currently enrolled in our Pediatric Critical Care fellowship are eligible to apply for the one-year Pediatric Neurocritical Care fellowship track. This track includes additional neurocritical care-focused clinical rotations, in-person and online didactic courses for stroke management and EEG interpretation, training in neuro-anesthesia, neuro-radiology, and neurophysiology.  

 

APPLICATION

Interested applicants should send their CV and personal statement to Dennis Simon by December 15th for a July 1st start date. Applicants will be interviewed early in the new year.

PEDIATRIC NEUROCRITICAL FELLOWSHIP TRACK DIRECTOR: Dennis Simon, MD

Contact

For inquiries about the Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship program, please contact Vickie Johnson, GME Senior Department Manager.

Social Media

Learn more about fellowship training at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

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https://twitter.com/PCCMPittsburgh

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