Academic Curriculum
A New Curriculum
Last year, our program designed a new academic curriculum based on the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) General Pediatrics Content Outline, ABP Content Specifications Map, Nelson’s Textbook of Pediatrics, Zitelli and Davis' Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis, the Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book), and essential topics for pediatric residents selected by our faculty members.
Every aspect of pediatrics, including primary care, subspecialty medicine, and surgical subspecialties, has a designated faculty member to oversee the curriculum development (via a Core Curriculum Map) and select faculty members and guest speakers to present to the residents in an engaging format.
In addition to our Core Curriculum, residents also have a Continuity Clinic Curriculum that focuses on American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines, screening tests, anticipatory guidance, and bread-and-butter pediatric conditions.
Example of Core Curriculum Map for Pediatric Infectious Diseases, a Core Curriculum Lecture Objective Sheet for “Immigrant & International Adoption,” and accompanying MedStudy and Pediatrics in Review Questions.
Educational Conferences & Schedule
Based on the feedback of our current residents, our program transitioned to a daily noon conference model for educational conferences, called Pediatric Resident Education Conference (PREC). The noon hour is protected time by the chief residents, who hold all resident pagers so that the residents can focus on the content and enjoy their lunches. Residents who are on Main Campus for their elective attend conferences in-person, while those at regional hospitals and outpatient clinic sites can attend virtually.
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Led by faculty experts, this conference is where our core curriculum is presented to our residents. Conference style varies from traditional didactic to interactive group sessions.
Most weekdays from 12 - 1 PM (protected)
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Led by our senior residents and facilitated by the chiefs and faculty, these interactive, case-based conferences complement our core curriculum and allow residents to refine and execute their teaching skills. These sessions highlight key history taking, physical exam skills, brainstorming a differential diagnosis, and reviewing a patient’s work-up/ management.
Thursday mornings from 8 - 8:30 AM
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Staff physicians and guest lecturers are present an hour-long update on recent advances in pediatrics. These conferences provide a venue for collaboration on continual improvement in patient care.
Tuesday mornings from 8 - 9 AM
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At the end of every module, the residents and residency leadership gather together over lunch to discuss the program, solicit feedback from the residents, provide program updates, and celebrate module milestones — including Intern of the Month, Senior of the Month, champagne taps, birthdays, and more!
Final Friday of the module from 12 - 1 PM
The first module of the year (July) has the theme of “Back-to-Basics,” where we review fundamental topics in pediatrics (e.g., management of diabetic ketoacidosis), institutional policies and procedures (e.g., asthma care path), order entry (e.g., diet orders), and prescribing scenarios (led by our pediatric pharmacy team). This way, PGY-1s receive a “boot camp” to prepare them for the year ahead, while the PGY-2s and PGY-3s receive updates on new guidelines for patient management.
Board Preparation
MedStudy®
To complement our new curriculum and academic conference schedule, we have partnered with MedStudy® to provide PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents FREE access to the 2,000+ question bank, with access continuing after graduation until the resident takes their Pediatric Board Examination in the fall. We have incorporated MedStudy® into our curriculum with:
Formative, weekly MedStudy® Assignments based on PREC
Formative, monthly MedStudy® Assignments based on the Continuity Clinic Curriculum
The assignments allow residents to gauge their mastery of the academic content, and tailor their studies based on weak areas. At the end of the month, residents participate in House Cup, which is a review of commonly missed questions where the Chief Residents re-teach the concept and re-ask the question in a different format.
In addition to the residency program assignments, residents can independently use MedStudy® question bank at their own pace, and on their own time. Many residents choose to complete questions based on their elective — for example, a resident rotating genetics will complete the genetics questions on MedStudy®. Finally, residents in our program receive generous discounts on other MedStudy® products, such as their review textbooks, flashcards, and videos.
ClinicalKey® and PediaLink®
All residents have FREE access to ClinicalKey®, which is an online database of textbooks, review guides, guidelines, and journal articles for residents to keep up on reading. Some popular items on ClinicalKey® include Nelson’s Textbook of Pediatrics and Zitelli and Davis' Atlas of Pediatric Physical Diagnosis.
PediaLink® is also provided at no charge to residents during their training. It is the online learning center provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which gives residents access to a multitude of resources including the PREP® Self-Assessments (900+ questions created by the AAP based on the Pediatrics Review and Education Program).
Cleveland Clinic Annual Pediatric Board Review Symposium
One of the educational programs that we are most proud of at Cleveland Clinic Children's is the national Annual Pediatric Board Review Symposium, which is held the last week of August. The primary objective of the symposium is to provide a comprehensive pediatric board review course, which will prepare pediatric residents and practitioners for board certification or re-certification. The audience is usually comprised of approximately 300 attendees from across the country. Pediatric residents graduating from our residency program are offered a complimentary invitation to attend the symposium (savings of more than $1500).
Resident Presentations (Clubs)
In addition to our core curriculum, residents attend and participate in several presentations or “clubs.” These include:
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Cleveland Clinic Children’s is dedicated to a culture of safety. During SERS Club, residents will connect with leadership from our safety team to review a safety event from our Safety Event Reporting System (SERS). The resident will then perform a root cause analysis and present the patient safety story to the other residents and faculty members. From these interactive sessions, residents can contribute to new process improvements for the entire Cleveland Clinic enterprise!
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Each resident participates in a mentored Quality Improvement (QI) Project.
This project is part of a larger QI curriculum that organizes a review of the key concepts of quality (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, IHI, modules), followed by individual, paired, and group work sessions in which the resident presents and revises the proposed project with fellow residents and faculty members.
The goals of the curriculum include identifying improvement opportunities from reflection on both individual patients and patient populations, and then applying proven quality improvement methodologies based on the Institute for Healthcare Improvement to a specific quality improvement goal.
Residents then present their completed projects at the end PGY-3.
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Our program recognizes the practice of evidence-based medicine (EBM) as a skill set essential to lifelong learning for the purpose of maintaining one’s fund of current clinical knowledge.
During Journal Club, the residents dissect a study relevant to everyday clinical practice and presents the study to the other residents with emphasis on basic EBM concepts.
Activities include formulating a clinical question, applying basic literature search principles, and learning about different types of research studies. These activities are supported by EBM faculty, a selected faculty mentor, and librarians.
Research Opportunities
Residents have the option to participate in a longitudinal research elective to design, implement, and present a research project. Research has ranged from basic science research in conjunction with Case Western Reserve University, to translational and clinical research across the Cleveland Clinic Enterprise.
Residents participate in a research curriculum, which provides a framework for their rotation, and guidance on everything from IRB application to drafting a manuscript. Residents who participate in this elective present at the Douglas S. Moodie Annual Pediatric Research Day. Many residents have also presented their work at regional and national meetings, and have authored manuscripts published in peer-reviewed pediatric journals.
Annual Pediatric Research Day
The Douglas S. Moodie Annual Pediatric Research Day highlights current research being performed by residents and fellows at Cleveland Clinic Children’s. Residents have the opportunity to share a presentation of a scholarly project at this annual event in May. This may include a research study, a quality improvement initiative, or a community-based advocacy project. Awards are presented for the best research projects at the end of the day.
Simulation Experience
With a 10,000-square-foot expansion of the Simulation Center Lab in Stanley Shalom Zielony Plaza (formerly the Health Space Building), the creation of two difficult airway centers, and the renovation of the task-based simulation lab, Cleveland Clinic is at the cutting-edge of simulation training. This enhanced environment allows us to better train our residents to deliver the highest quality care and safety to patients. Simulation training gives residents the opportunity to experience events in a safe environment, and to practice skills critical to any career path in pediatrics. Through scheduled sessions in the simulation lab, intern procedure lab, and mock codes, all residents will get at least three exposures to simulated emergencies each year during their training. Some of these sessions will occur in a multidisciplinary setting (with nursing, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, etc.) to help improve communication and patient care.