Clinical Experience

Inpatient Floor
Non-surgical patients outside of the ICUs are admitted to either our hospitalist team or one of five resident inpatient teams. Residents also spend time on our night float team, called the “Owl Team,” as an intern and as a senior. Overnight call for inpatient teams is limited to 2-3 calls/month due to the night float team.

Inpatient Teams

• Red Team: General pediatric patients and neurology patients.
• Purple Team: General pediatric patients and nephrology patients.
• Green Team: Senior-resident only team which covers general pediatric patients.
• Blue Team: Cardiology patients.
• Gold Team: Gastroenterology patients.
• Orange Team: General pediatric patients - exists during busy winter months to accommodate increased patient load.
• Owl Team - Night Float: Covers inpatient teams Sunday > Thursday night.

Emergency Department

• The Children’s Mercy Emergency Department is the only Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center between Saint Louis and Denver
• More than 67,000 patients are seen annually
• Recognized as one of the top Pediatric Emergency Departments in the country
• Staffed twenty-four hours a day by board-certified Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

• Residents spend two months in the PICU with 24-hour on-site intensivist supervision.
• Our 27-bed Pediatric Intensive Care unit is one of the largest PICUs in the nation.
• The in-house transport team serves a 150-mile radius and annually transports more than 1500 patients per year.
  • Our transport program was “Program of the Year” in 2007, best fixed-wing transport program in 2006, and best ground transport team in 2005.
  • Currently, Children’s Critical Care Transport ranks third nationally in pediatric and neonatal transport volume.

Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU)

• Residents gain NICU experience at both Children’s Mercy Hospital and Truman Medical Center.
• Children’s Mercy Hospital has a 64-bed level 3C Intensive Care Nursery, and ECMO capabilities.
• The Truman Medical Center-West Neonatal Intensice Care Unit is a 24-bed level II/III nursery associated with a high-risk obstetric service.
  • Residents attend all high-risk deliveries to gain experience with delivery room resuscitation.
  • Residents also complete a month of well-baby nursery during their second year.

Hematology/Oncology

• Residents are exposed to a wide range of hematology and oncology processes.

Outpatient Clinical Education

• Adolescent Medicine
  • In the Adolescent Medicine rotation, residents learn about issues that are unique to the teenage population.
  • Residents have the option of continuing to work in the clinic once a month as part of their Continuity Care Clinic.
• Behavioral and Development
  • In Behavior and Developmental Clinics, Residents gain an understanding of normal and abnormal development. They also learn the management of common behavioral problems.

• Pediatric Care Clinic (PCC)
  • The Pediatric Care Center (PCC) is the general primary care clinic for Children’s Mercy Hospital. More than 40,000 children and families were served by the clinic last year.
  • Pediatric residents spend two months in the PCC – one month during their first year and a supervisory month as a third-year resident.
  • The goal of the PCC is to provide every resident with a broad-based primary care pediatric experience.
• Continuity Care Clinic (CCC)
  • Each resident spends one half day each week in this clinic.
  • Residents have the opportunity to build a panel of patients that they can follow through their three years at Children’s Mercy.
  • The clinic is staffed by the same general pediatricians each week to facilitate learning and continuity.
• Teaching Resident and Evidence Based Medicine
  • Residents work in a group to complete an evidence-based medicine project that they present to their peers in journal club.
  • In preparation for their role as senior residents, residents work to further develop teaching and leadership skills.

Clinical Rotations by Year

PL-1	PL-2	PL-3
ER	ER	ER
Owl (night float)	ER	Inpatient / Owl (night float)
Inpatient / Owl (night float)	Inpatient / Owl (night float)	Inpatient
Inpatient	Inpatient	Inpatient
Inpatient	Hematology/Oncology	Hematology/Oncology
Inpatient	Well-baby nursery	NICU
NICU	PICU	PICU
NICU at Truman Med Center	Community Pediatric Office	General Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic
Endocrinology / Pulmonology (mixed Inpt & Outpt)	Behavioral / Developmental Medicine	Elective
Adolescent Clinic	EBM / Teaching	Elective
General Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic	Elective	Elective
Elective	Elective	Elective
4-7 calls per month	3-7 calls per month	2-6 calls per month

Electives

• Electives exist in all pediatric subspecialties.
• Residents can tailor their electives to meet their own goals and interests.
• Some electives include:

Abuse/Neglect Allergy/Immunology Cardiology Endocrinology General Surgery Hematology/Oncology Infectious Disease Neonatology Neurology Orthopedic Surgery Palliative Care Plastic Surgery Radiology Rheumatology Special Care Clinic		Advocacy Anesthesiology Dermatology Gastroenterology Genetics Hospitalist International Medicine Nephrology Ophthalmology Otorhinolaryngology Pathology Pulmonology Research Rehabilitative Medicine Toxicology