Mission

The Department of Pediatrics at the Naval Medical Center San Diego is proud to be a military program that trains top-tier medical officers for a career in Navy Pediatrics. The mission of our residency program is “to develop skilled pediatricians who are able to provide care in isolated medical centers, to be leaders in humanitarian aid and assistance for children throughout the world, and to instill confidence in our fellow service men and women that they always know their children are receiving exceptional medical care.” The program consists of three years of focused pediatric training at our own military medical center, which serves active duty and retired service members and their families and children. Residents also rotate through inpatient, emergency medicine, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, and elective services at Rady Children’s Hospital in San Diego, Children’s Hospital Orange County, Kaiser Permanente San Diego, and Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. In addition, all residents complete a rotation focusing on Community Pediatrics and Advocacy and have opportunities to participate in global humanitarian medical missions. This curriculum offers a wide range of clinical learning environments and patient populations which prepares our residents to serve as pediatricians and military clinician leaders in a variety of duty assignments both stateside and overseas.

Vision

To develop skilled pediatricians who can provide competent, high-quality care in isolated medical centers, and to be leaders in humanitarian aid and assistance for children throughout the world. Graduates of our training program will instill confidence in our fellow service men and women, that they always know their children are receiving exceptional medical care.

Aims

Aim 1

To train the next generation of military pediatricians to practice innovative, evidence-based medicine in isolated medical centers both stateside and overseas.

Aim 2

To develop pediatric leaders within military and humanitarian medicine.

Aim 3

To promote an environment of scientific inquiry through faculty mentorship, so that upon graduation all residents will be facile in the performance of scholarly research and continuous process improvement projects.

Aim 4

To support the well-being of our residents and faculty, and continuously strive to mitigate burnout while promoting resiliency and a balanced life.

• Clinical block schedule
• Daily academic morning conference
• Journal Club
• PI/QI
• Procedural labs/rotations (lumbar puncture, venous access, intubation)
• Research
• Supplemental activities (BLS, PALS, NRP, STABLE courses)

Possible Electives (ELEC), Required Subspecialties (RS) at Naval Medical Center San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego = Child Abuse, Medical Genetics, Mental and Behavioral Health, Allergy and Immunology, Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Hematology-Oncology, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Neurology, Pulmonology, Rheumatology

Possible Electives (ELEC), Subspecialty Experience (SP) at Naval Medical Center San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego = Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Anesthesiology, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Radiology, Surgery, Sports Medicine, Sedation, Research, Humanitarian Assignment (International Health)

PGY-1 Residents provide cross coverage for the assigned overnight ward intern on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. and are excused from clinical duties the following day. They also provide cross coverage for the assigned dayshift ward intern on Saturdays from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. while on outpatient rotations.

PGY-2 and PGY-3 Residents provide cross coverage for the assigned overnight NICU resident and PICU/Ward supervising resident on Friday evenings from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. and are excused from clinical duties the following day. They also provide cross coverage for the assigned dayshift ward supervising resident on Sundays from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. while on outpatient rotations

A PGY-2 or PGY-3 Resident is always assigned as “back up” to emergently fill in for the NICU resident or PICU/Ward supervising resident if they are unexpectedly unavailable.

Military unique curriculum for the Pediatrics resident centers around readiness to practice innovative, evidence-based medicine in isolated medical centers both stateside and overseas. During the PGY-1 training year, rotations are completed in the ED, psychiatry, sports medicine, and gynecology in preparation for a possible general medical officer tour. PGY-1 residents also attend the Combat Casualty Care Course (C4).

Formal military curriculum is integrated into department didactics throughout the year with multiple lectures covering both general medical and pediatric specific deployment activities. The military medical humanitarian assistance course (MMHAC) is offered at NMCSD twice a year in conjunction with USUHS. Pediatric residents are required to sit for the course once during their time in training.

Informal “chalk talks,” formal didactics, and teaching rounds place emphasis on how to approach a clinical scenario in a remote duty station without immediate access to the resources and in-house subspecialty support readily available at the large medical facility training centers.

• All Pediatric Residents must maintain certifications in Basic Life Support (BLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), the Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood pressure, Lab Work, and Emotional (STABLE) course and Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) while in residency training.
• PGY-1 Pediatric Residents are required to additionally have certification in either Advanced Life Support (ALS) or Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS).
• All Pediatric Residents are required to obtain certification as a PALS-Instructor prior to graduation.  

PICU Staff perform specific training sessions with residents in high-fidelity simulation center in hospital for rapid response to multiple life-threatening situations such as cardiac arrhythmias, severe respiratory distress/failure, shock, intracranial bleed, trauma, etc. Neonatology staff perform NRP simulations with manikin and training resuscitation equipment within the NICU during each rotation. The hospital conducts multi-disciplinary obstetric, neonatology, anesthesia, and massive transfusion teams twice per year.

PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents rotate through team leader roles for the NICU and Pediatric Ward house staff teams in charge of categorical PGY1 Pediatric residents, Transitional Year residents, sub-intern 4th year medical students, and 3rd year clerkship medical students. They are evaluated on how they manage the workflow and patient care of the team in addition to their medical decision making.

All PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents are required to complete a scholarly activity which may involve primary research, IRB submission, or quality improvement projects. They meet with the scholarly work advisory group twice per year to discuss progress and request support or additional resources. The pediatric departmental clinical workspaces regularly execute QI projects related to health screening and chart reviews. Research projects can be supported by the Command Investigations Department. Residents frequently give oral or poster presentations of their work at the hospital’s academic research competition, the American Academy of Pediatrics National Convention and Exhibition, or other relevant conferences.

Quality Improvement is an option to satisfy the scholarly works academic requirement as stated above. The concept of QI is taught in the continuity clinic didactics curriculum. NMCSD maintains an American Board of Pediatrics QI portfolio which allows for staff and residents to accumulate credit towards maintenance of certification.

U.S. Navy Medical Corps career progression is formally integrated into the academic curriculum. Topics include FitRep writing, familiarization with online officer summary reports, promotion board expectations, and military career advancement educational courses. All residents are required to participate in career development boards with program leadership at least once during their residency.

• Children's Hospital of Orange County
• Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton
• Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego
• Scripps Memorial Hospital, La Jolla
• Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group

• MS3 Clerkship Rotations – only available for USUHS MS3s.
• MS4 Clerkship/Audition/Sub-Internship Rotation – available for USUHS and HPSP/HSCP students.

Please visit our Medical Student Rotation informational page to see a listing of available medical student rotations offered at NMCSD.

During an audition/sub-internship/clerkship rotation from June-October, students will be assigned an interview date during that 4-week period. Each applicant will have up to three one-on-one 45-minute interviews; interviewers will include Program Director, Associate Program Director, and/or Chief Resident. Medical students are invited to come for an in-person one-day interview, if not rotating. Virtual interviews are offered if students are unable to come in person. Interviewees are asked to provide the following documentation to the program at least 10 days prior to interview:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal Statement
• Any board scores that they would like the interview panel to review

For those individuals who are not completing an audition/sub-internship/clerkship rotation but wish to interview with the Pediatric Residency Program, please email the program at: dha.san-diego.San-Diego-NMC.list.nmcsd-peds@health.mil.  Please include the above items as attachments in your email to the program.  

Program graduates take the American Board of Pediatrics, General Pediatrics Certifying Examination. This exam is offered annually. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam 4 months following graduation. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the American Board of Pediatrics by October 30th.   You can review these requirements on their website, located at: Admission Requirements | The American Board of Pediatrics

“Resident as Teacher” Curriculum is offered to the PGY-3 graduating class. Throughout training, all residents are encouraged to teach more junior trainees during hospital rounds, with informal “chalk talks”, and during case presentations at daily morning academics. PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents are assessed on how well they teach more junior trainees in their rotation evaluations. All residents complete a journal club (one per year), M&M (PGY-2 and PGY-3), and formal resident lecture on a topic of their choice (PGY-2), and a Clinical Pathological Conference (PGY-3).

PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents rotate through “Community Pediatrics” in which they have the opportunity to attend San Diego area schools to teach grade school through high school students on a variety of health topics. They can also partner with UCSD outreach programs to teach basic first aid in schools.

• Academic Medicine
• Adolescent Medicine
• Allergy/Immunology
• Cardiology
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Endocrinology
• Gastroenterology
• Genetics
• Hematology/Oncology
• Hospitalist Pediatrics
• Infectious Diseases
• Intensive Care Pediatrics
• Neonatology
• Neurology
• Pulmonology.

All residents are assigned an academic advisor and a clinical competence committee reviewer. All residents have the opportunity to establish self-directed mentorship relationships with faculty in their field of interest.

“Resiliency” meetings take place once a week in which faculty present on common hazards to resident wellness and how to mitigate them. Representatives from each class of the residency program serve as designated officers for this program and have input into each session. A panel of “social chairs” organize monthly outings for the residency class.