All rotations are completed at Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, which boasts a 34 bed state-of-the-art Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, with approximately 1800 admissions annually.
Practical experience will be obtained with clinical service in structured rotations with supervision and oversight by attending physicians. Practical experience in performing procedures is necessary for the pediatric intensivist, and includes: ventilator management, ECMO deployment and management, central venous cannulation, arterial cannula placement, endotracheal intubation, and thoracostomy tube placement. Experience in procedural sedation will also be provided throughout the duration of training.
The beginning of the first year includes a comprehensive orientation program and participation in a national “boot camp” with simulation and team-building exercises to facilitate a smooth transition into fellowship. Rotations in the first year include time in the PICU, cardiac ICU, anesthesia and research. Time in the OR assists in development of airway management of the pediatric patient. Call is in-house and is balanced throughout the year during clinical rotations and during research months to ensure an appropriate work-life balance.
During clinical service months in the PICU, fellows are expected to provide hands-on patient care, as well as supervise and direct patient care provided by residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants. By the end of the first year of training, the fellow will have gained experience in the recognition, triage, and management of a wide variety of acute illnesses, and will have gained skill in the performance of invasive procedures. Though the second and third years are skewed toward research time, clinical time will be dedicated to the honing of clinical skills with emphasis on development of management plans and team leadership.
The Cardiac ICU rotation (CICU) is designed to allow the fellow to have a focused experience in the management of critically ill surgical cardiac patients. The fellows work closely with one of our cardiac intensivists. This rotation has in-house call where the fellow cares for only CICU patients.
Built into the fellowship program is elective time that can be tailored to individual fellows’ needs as they progress toward junior faculty positions. Clinical electives may be substituted or combined with a research block as long as ACGME requirements for clinical and research time are met, and with the approval of the Program Director.
A sample of the block schedule is available below: