Pediatrics

The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington is involved in teaching, service and research in virtually every aspect of pediatric disease and child health care. We provide trainees with opportunities for different career directions, whether in general practice, subspecialties or research. We offer a three-year residency training program in general pediatrics that combines both inpatient and outpatient experiences. From the intensive care and medical units to the drop-in clinic, residents are exposed to a wide variety of both normal development and pediatric pathology. No two schedules are alike, as each resident has the opportunity to tailor their rotations based on past experience and to enhance future career goals.

During the first year, residents learn to recognize and treat serious disease in the acutely ill child. Starting with a Pediatric Advance Life Support class, the majority of the year is spent in general inpatient services, the emergency department, the hematology/oncology inpatient service and the neonatal ICU. Additional rotations in developmental pediatrics, the newborn nursery and a block month in continuity clinic are provided to broaden the educational experience.

During the second year, emphasis is placed on primary care pediatrics through extensive ambulatory training. All PGY-2 residents also spend two months in private practice primary care in a rural setting in the Pacific Northwest, which is referred to as the “WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) experience.” There is also a one-month rotation in the Emergency Department, and two to three months of supervising residents on intensive care or inpatient services. Two months of the year may also be spent in ambulatory clinics at Harborview Medical Center (HMC), which provides experience in the region's only level-one trauma center, a regional burn center, and a regional sexual assault center.

The third year of training allows the resident to increase clinical skills, enhance clinical judgment and assume increasing responsibility for supervising medical students and residents in both inpatient and ambulatory care settings. Considerable elective time is made available in the PGY-3 year to allow the residents to consolidate their general pediatric background as well as to concentrate on specific areas of their own interest. Some PGY-3 residents choose to do a two-month rotation as Assistant Chief Resident during which time they work directly with one of the Chief Residents in supervision of the educational program. Most residents currently have 5 - 6 months of elective time. Many residents choose to spend their elective months in the third year at an international health site or at an Indian Health Service site.

The Chief Residency is both a clinical and administrative position at the PGY-4 rank. The Chief Residents are the immediate supervisors of the educational components of the Residency Program. Furthermore, they serve as liaisons between the hospital and community physicians and help maintain cooperation among community physicians, nurses and other hospital employees. Chief Residents play a pivotal role in the activities of the Department of Pediatrics.

Because the field of pediatric medicine is far-reaching, we believe it is important to provide our residents with ample opportunity for career exploration through elective time. Overall, electives amount to a total of nine months over the three-year residency. Some residents use this time to investigate areas of clinical subspecialty. Others choose to focus intensively on a specific research, or child advocacy project. Also, continuity clinics are established at the beginning of residency. Running throughout the training program these clinics offer residents valuable experience in providing longitudinal care to children.

For additional information, visit the Pediatrics web site.

PROGRAM DIRECTOR		PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Richard Shugerman, MD		Jennifer Hickey
Program Director		Program Coordinator
Pediatrics		Pediatrics
Box 359300		Box 359300
CHRMC (5H-4)		CHRMC (G-0061)
Phone: 206-987-2688		Phone: 206-987-2525
Fax: 206-987-3843		Fax: 206-987-3843
bama@u.washington.edu		jennifer.hickey@seattlechildrens.org