GENERAL INFORMATION - (PDF version)
- How many residents are in your program?
- How many hospitals are there?
- What are the clinic arrangements for med-peds residents?
- How often do residents rotate between medicine and pediatrics?
- Will I be on service with other med-peds residents?
- Is there a med-peds specific conference series?
- Is there a med-peds chief resident?
- Are there med-peds trained faculty?
- Is there flexibility in the schedule?
- Will I be able to do research?
- What opportunities are available for international health work?
- What are the best parts of your program?
Q: How many residents are in your program?
A: Currently we have 16 residents in our program. There are 4 positions available for each intern class.
Q: How many hospitals are there?
A: Three.
Medicine: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and Penn Presbyterian Hospital (Presby) are both members of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. HUP is a large, tertiary care academic teaching hospital, consistently ranked among the best hospitals in the country. Medical services include a hospitalist general medicine service and subspecialty services in cardiology, oncology, pulmonary, and gastroenterology, renal and ID. Presby is a smaller, community-style hospital 6 blocks from HUP. Faculty at Presby are all University faculty and typically closely affiliated with colleagues at HUP. The hospital has a thriving medical service which exposes residents to a broad variety of common inpatient illnesses along with some specialty referral practices, especially cardiology, infectious diseases, and hematology.
Pediatrics: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a large pediatric teaching hospital right next door to HUP. CHOP has been consistently ranked the number one children’s hospital in both Child’s Health Magazine and the US News and World Report. CHOP serves as both a primary care hospital for our community as well as a tertiary care referral center for patients around the world.
Q: What are the clinic arrangements for med-peds residents?
A:
Med-peds residents have two separate continuity practices. While residents are on ward rotations, clinics are held on alternating weeks: one week medicine, the next week pediatrics. The med-peds residents are grouped so that they co-practice with other med-peds residents at the clinic sites. While on non-call rotations, our residents frequently have both clinics scheduled during the week, in order to broaden their exposure to outpatient medicine.
For medicine clinic, residents practice at Edward S. Cooper general internal medicine practice at 3701 Market Street where they have exposure to core med-peds faculty and med-peds chief resident who precept on med-peds primary clinic days.
For pediatrics clinic, med-peds residents practice at 3550 Market Street. This clinic has both a long standing tradition of providing routine primary care to the underserved West Philadelphia community as well as serving as general pediatricians for some of the complex patients at CHOP making it ideal for med-peds residents.
Because of our presence in both general pediatrics clinic and general medicine clinic, med-peds residents find they learn from both sets of categorical residents and preceptors while being able to provide resources to their colleagues as well in transitioning from pediatric to adult primary care, adolescent and young adult issues in pediatrics clinic and traditionally pediatric conditions in medicine clinic.
Q: How often do residents rotate between medicine and pediatrics?
A: Our interns start with one month at each site in order to familiarize themselves with both settings, then rotate about every 3 months. Residents also rotate about every 3 months, but schedules are flexible in order to accommodate specific curricular, global health travel (and personal travel) requests.
Q: Will I be on service with other med-peds residents?
A: We keep half of the med-peds residents doing medicine or pediatrics at the same time, and some attempt is also made to pair up med-peds interns with upper year med-peds residents. Therefore, there will usually be a cohort of med-peds residents on-service together at a given hospital.
Q: Is there a med-peds specific conference series?
A: Yes. This year, our conference series has expanded, now offering weekly lunchtime conferences. The conferences are focused on health conditions or professional topics specifically relevant to the med-peds residents including primary care across the ages, transition of care and global health. Speakers are brought in from CHOP, HUP and outside institutions, many times combined in order to discuss management of disease processes throughout the ages. We also have med-peds related journal club four times throughout the year.
Q: Is there a Med-Peds Chief Resident?
A: Yes. Starting in a 2011-2012, there is a dedicated 5th year Med-Peds Chief Resident to focus on scheduling, conferences and program development. The med-peds chief also serves to precept in clinic to offer additional med-peds faculty and input in clinic.
Q: Are there med-peds trained faculty?
A: There are several med-peds trained faculty at both HUP and CHOP. These faculty members are available as mentors and for career counseling. In addition, a number of faculty have evolved careers in which they provide transitional care (e.g. congenital heart disease, cystic fibrosis, HIV) and are available to provide clinical and research opportunities for med-peds residents.
Q: Is there flexibility in the schedule?
A: Absolutely! Elective time is built into the schedule and these electives allow the residents opportunities to do research, participate in subspecialty clinics, and to travel internationally.
Q: Will I be able to do research?
A: Yes! Each graduating med/peds resident is required to complete a scholarly pursuit project by the end of their training. Research opportunities include basic science and clinical research as well as opportunities in advocacy, health policy, and international work.
Q: What opportunities are available for international health work?
A: There are a wide variety of international opportunities available through both CHOP and HUP. A short list of some recent destinations of residents in the med-peds program alone includes the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Botswana, Kenya, India, Ethiopia, Liberia, and Mexico in recent years. All med-peds residents are also invited to apply for and participate in the Global Health Equity Track which offers a conference series during elective time, online case series and protected travel time.
Q: What are the best parts of your program?
A: The best parts of our program are our colleagues (in our own program as well as the pediatric and medicine programs) and teachers. They are some of the most supportive, brilliant, fun, and kind physicians in the country.
We feel lucky to have all the resources that CHOP and Penn have to offer while still maintain the close nit bond that the smaller med-peds community provides.