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Critical Care Medicine

Education

Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship

Fellowship Overview

The Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine has been in existence for over 20 years with the steadfast commitment of providing trainees with high quality, comprehensive training in preparation for academic careers in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. Graduates from this program are in academic positions as clinicians, educators, investigators, or administrative physicians. Many have achieved excellence in their endeavors as evidenced by receipt of national honors, awards and grants as well as appointments to national committees and boards in their fields of interest.

The Pediatric Critical Care Fellowship Program at Yale is supported by a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Training Grant. This grant provides salary support as well as funds for travel to a national meeting for research support and coursework.

With the field of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine in evolution, our program recognizes that individual candidates may have different career goals in academic medicine. The philosophy of the Pediatric Critical Care Program at Yale is to design a training program to achieve the specific career goals of each trainee under the mentorship of senior clinical and research faculty. We have tailored individual training programs for candidates to develop the necessary clinical, research, educational, and administrative skills to become clinician-educators and clinician investigators. These curricula will be adjusted to meet the needs of the individual. However, the overall goal of the program is to produce trainees who are leaders in academic pediatrics.

Educational Tracks

Clinician Educator Tracks
This track is designed to provide training for those who wish to pursue careers as clinician-educators. This track will provide individuals, based on their needs and interests, the tools to develop clinical excellence in a particular area of critical care (e.g., noninvasive hemodynamic monitoring, neurological intensive care), teaching and education (e.g., curriculum development), leadership and administration (e.g., participation and leadership on clinical committees, responsibility for performance improvement projects) within Pediatric Critical Care.

Clinician-Clinical Research Track
This track is designed to provide specialized training for those who wish to pursue careers as clinical investigators. In addition to clinical training within the pediatric intensive care unit, trainees will participate in a clinical research project and will develop the skills to design and perform patient-based research. Yale University School of Medicine provides trainees with many clinical research opportunities. Within the Pediatrics Department at Yale, there is an NIH Children's Clinical Research Center (continuously funded for >30 years) that provides opportunities for clinically-based research projects as well as multicenter drug trials.

All training in research will be under the direct supervision of a senior clinical investigator. Fellows will receive training in development of protocols for human investigation, writing of manuscripts, preparation of abstracts and grants, and presentation of abstracts and papers at conferences and national meetings. There are also opportunities for more advanced education in clinical epidemiology and research design through the well-established Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale University School of Medicine.

Clinician-Laboratory Research Track
This track is designed to provide focused training for those who wish to pursue careers as laboratory investigators. The collegial atmosphere that exists between the Department of Pediatrics and the clinical and basic science departments at Yale University School of Medicine provides trainees with a wide breadth of research opportunities in nationally and internationally renowned laboratories. Areas of basic science interest in these laboratories span all areas relevant to critical care medicine including cardiovascular, pulmonary, renal, neuro-physiology, metabolism, and immunology, with experimental models ranging from genetic and cellular systems to human.

All training in research will be under the direct supervision of a senior basic science investigator. Fellows will receive training in development of experimental models for laboratory investigation, writing of manuscripts, preparation of abstracts and grants, and presentation of abstracts and papers at conferences and national meetings.

Clinical Training

The Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital is a multi-specialty primary and tertiary care facility serving infants and children throughout Southern New England. Clinical services available at Yale include a Level I Trauma Center, solid and bone marrow transplant programs, an ECMO program and all pediatric and surgical subspecialties.

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is currently a 19-bed unit with over 900 admissions per year and serves as the focal point for clinical training. The PICU is a multidisciplinary facility with active programs in all aspects of pediatric medicine and surgery. The majority of the clinical training is provided during the first year of fellowship. The clinical commitments during the second and third years of fellowship are reduced so fellows have ample time for pursuit of academic development and research. Fellows receive direct supervision from the faculty and have an active role in all phases of patient care, teaching, and research. In addition, they receive concentrated clinical experience in anesthesiology and cardiology. Fellows also participate fully in a regional transport service and referral program. The program is accredited by the Residency Review Committee so that fellows will be board eligible in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine.

Sample of Block/Call Schedule Guidlines

Educational Training
The educational training for fellows is comprised of clinical, didactic, administrative and fellow-based components. Fellows' clinical training will be provided through close interaction with faculty during clinical rounds and at the bedside. There are weekly rounds during which all faculty and fellows from the Section of Pediatric Critical Care participate in in-depth discussions on cases presented by the on-service fellows. Didactic sessions provided by the Critical Care faculty as well as those from other divisions focus on areas relevant to the clinical practice of pediatric critical care. Fellows will also be provided with education in the areas of academic medicine such as scientific writing, grant preparation, presentation of scientific information, statistical analysis, peer review and ethical scientific conduct. The fellow-based component of the educational program is comprised of didactic lectures and journal club articles presented by the fellows and faculty. The purpose of these lectures, through meaningful feedback from faculty, is to help develop presentation and critical thinking skills necessary for all critical care physicians.

Training Program Yealy Expectations

Critical Care Fellows Conference Schedule

Additional Training
Those trainees who wish to have additional time for the development of a particular area of interest in clinical practice, clinical research, or laboratory-based research may have the opportunity for an additional year of training in that area. Fellows will also be provided with the opportunity to enter into clinical elective months in either the medical or surgical subspecialties.

Trainee Selection
Trainees will be selected from applicants with M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degrees who have interests in any of a number of disciplines related to intensive care. All interested applicants should complete the application form below and return it the address below via email or post. Applications and letters of recommendation will be reviewed when complete. All applicants that are competitive for positions will have a personal interview. Yale University School of Medicine is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Critical Care Fellowhip Training Application: MSWord or PDF

Address inquiries to:

Kenneth J. Banasiak, MD
Department of Pediatrics
Yale University School of Medicine
PO Box 208064
333 Cedar Street
New Haven, CT 06520-8064

Phone: 203-785-4651
Fax: 203-785-5833
Email: kenneth.banasiak@yale.edu