Welcome to the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. Located at the OU Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, the department is composed of 16 sections and 215 faculty members, all seeking excellence around shared academic goals as well as the provision of the highest quality research-based medical care to children of all ages and special needs. The center of these clinical programs is Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU, Health.
Our faculty are dedicated to all three missions that define an Academic Health System. That is the delivery of advanced clinical services, the teaching of students, residents, fellows, and graduate students, as well as the advancement of knowledge that comes from cutting-edge bench to bedside to community research. We work closely with several major research institutions, such as the Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resource Center, Stephenson Cancer Center, Harold Hamm Diabetes Center, and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation to support the advancement of research in childhood disease.
We share a common commitment to serving and protecting the well-being of the children of Oklahoma by ensuring the continuity and advancement of health care both now and in the future through the training of outstanding pediatricians and other health care delivery professionals across the spectrum of clinical services.
The detail of our educational program is provided in the pages that follow. There are, however, three philosophical points I would like to highlight that will help you understand why I believe our Pediatric residency program is very special:
First, the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics is wholly committed to providing an outstanding educational experience. Here, the pediatric house officer has broad-based opportunities that allow them to acquire the knowledge and skills required of a competent and compassionate physician that is well prepared to care for the full spectrum of needs in infants, children, and adolescents. During training, our house officers are provided with tailored experiences that provide increasing independence as competency milestones are achieved in the work of caring for children with both common and highly complex pediatric problems and needs. Our program also teaches the proper balance between scientific inquiry and empathic clinical care.
Second, our program welcomes the opportunities presented by a changing patient population, a changing environment, and a changing profession. Learning both the art and science of evidence-based medicine and self-directed learning is critical in today’s ever-changing environment. As such, our resident learners will be exposed to the full breadth of exciting career choices within our profession. They will work with outstanding faculty role models across general pediatrics and all major subspecialty disciplines who are outstanding medical educators as well as physician-scientists involved in basic, clinical, and translational research.
Third, our program encourages personal wellness that comes from the integration of a successful personal life with his/her emerging professional life. This tenet is based on our belief that advocacy for a resident’s personal growth supports their growth as compassionate physicians. Oklahoma as a state and especially the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center provide a wonderful place for this integration to occur. We have a warm, friendly, and collegial environment that offers the opportunity for simultaneous personal and professional growth.
We understand that you may have additional questions about our program, so please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions. We also welcome a visit to see for yourself that our residency program provides a wonderful environment in which you can achieve your goal of becoming an outstanding physician to children. I look forward to meeting you then.
All the Best,
Robert Katz, M.D.
Interim Chair, Department of Pediatrics
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center
Phone: 405-271-4401
Fax: 405-271-8710