Department of Pediatrics
Residents » Inpatient
Inpatient Ward
Inpatient ward rotations are located at the Children's Hospital at University Medical Center. The intern on the ward provides primary care for all inpatients and coordinates care with primary care attendings and consultants. The junior and senior residents provide supervision and teaching while overseeing the care of all patients admitted to the pediatric floor. The ward team consists of one to two 2nd or 3rd year resident, a pediatric intern, a family practice intern, and two to three 3rd year medical students. Attending rounds are held daily. An academic pediatric hospitalist service provides most of the inpatient teaching. Additional didactic sessions with pediatric subspecialists are arranged three to four days a week for discussion of subspecialty specific inpatient issues. Additionally, a PharmD specialized in pediatrics, rounds with the team daily during the week to assist with medication dosing and choices.
The pediatric ward is a 27-bed unit with all private patient rooms. One centralized nursing station equipped with computer modules for rapid access to patient results and information helps to maximize care. Directly adjacent to the nurses' station is a physicians' conference room. This work area is equipped with a radiology computer system as well as internet access allowing physicians to have easy access to files and data. This space is used for check-out rounds in the morning and evening as well as work rounds and didactic sessions.
The pediatric ward also boasts a state-of-the-art playroom and children's library equipped with internet access as well as many toys, movies and games to help keep the patient's spirits up while they remain in the hospital.
Our nursing staff does a superior job of providing patient care that emphasizes the needs of children. They take the time to get to know the patient and the family, to provide education, and to update the parents and patients with details concerning their care throughout the hospital stay. Full-time child life specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, and respiratory therapists add to the thorough and comprehensive care available at University Medical Center.
PICU
A senior resident is assigned to the PICU every month and is responsible for admitting and providing care for all PICU patients. When an intern is assigned to the PICU, they work with a senior resident. The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a state-of-the-art 20-bed facility. There is a centralized nursing station with telemetry and video monitoring of each room. The training in the ICU is supplemented by consults in the burn intensive care unit as well as consults on pediatric general surgery patients who come to the PICU for post-op care or trauma management.
NICU
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is housed adjacent to the Family Birthing Center allowing for a prompt transport of a seriously ill infant after delivery. The NICU is a 48-bed unit encompassing care of the most critically ill infants in the Level III nursery and less critical patients requiring intermediate care in the Level II and Special Care Nurseries.
A senior resident is assigned to the NICU every month and is responsible for attending deliveries, admissions, discharges, and providing daily patient care for all NICU patients. The resident also does prenatal consults when requested by the obstetric team. When an intern is assigned to the NICU, they work with a senior resident. Call during the NICU rotation is q4 for the intern, q Monday/ Thursday for the senior resident. The residents have an excellent opportunity to further develop procedural skills, including intubations, umbilical lines, and chest tubes. Attending neonatologists supervise the patient care and resident education while rotating in the NICU.
Night Float
Each year, one month is devoted to night float. The senior resident assigned to night float is responsible for all admissions, patient management in the PICU, and supervising the intern. The intern assists with admissions, covers the inpatient ward and newborn nursery, and answers after-hours calls from parents whose children are seen in the general pediatric clinic. There is faculty supervision for all night float and on call residents. The night float residents work from 5pm to 7am Monday through Thursday. The night float residents' continuity clinic is Monday afternoon from 1-5. There are no weekend responsibilities during this month.