Pediatric Residency

House officers are appointed for a one-year term beginning in mid-June. There are 47 pediatric house officers: fifteen in each of the PL-1, PL-2, and PL-3 levels and two chief residents. In addition to the pediatric residents, a variety of family practice, internal medicine, surgical, and other specialty residents rotate through the Pediatric Residency Program at Children’s Hospital to gain exposure in pediatric medicine. PL-1 positions are offered through the National Resident Matching Program.

Our residents are a congenial group from diverse backgrounds. Working together in the common pursuit of acquisition of knowledge, training, and expertise in the care of children has welded a bond that is evident. Our house staff come from well-known medical schools, and a significant number of our own University’s finest graduates elect to stay here in Buffalo. Yearly retreats are held for each level, tailored to the needs of that particular stage of resident development.

In the past 15 years, over 60% of our program’s graduates have pursued primary care careers.

Work Hours

In compliance with the New York State "405" regulations, house staff work less than 80 hours per week. PL-1s are on call approximately every fourth night until 11:30 p.m., with one weekend day and one weekend per module completely free. A night-float/day-float system works well in the PL-2 and PL-3 years. This schedule has been refined over the past 14 years and has been well received by the house staff.

PL-1 Year

The first-year resident has the primary responsibility of providing total care for the pediatric/adolescent patient. Supervision by senior residents and the attending staff is augmented by consultations with subspecialty services when requested. The first-year resident receives exposure to inpatient pediatrics, rotating through a general pediatric floor, an adolescent floor, and an infant/toddler floor. Additionally, there is a block rotation in the continuity clinic as well as rotations in pediatric emergency medicine, and the neonatal intensive care unit, and one month in routine newborn nursery.

• Newborn Nursery: 4 weeks
• ICN (total: 16 weeks): 4-8 weeks
• Emergency Room (total: 20 weeks): 4-8 weeks
• Inpatient Wards: 24-28 weeks
• Continuity Clinic Rotation: 4 weeks
• Clinical Skills Rotation: 4 weeks

PL-2 Year

The second-year resident accepts more supervisory responsibilities. Three to four months are spent on electives, with the rest of the year divided between ambulatory experiences, PICU, NICU, ER, adolescent medicine and developmental/behavioral pediatrics. The PL-2 will usually have the experience of running at least one floor during this year.

• ICN (total 16 weeks): 4 weeks
• ICU: 4 weeks
• Emergency Room (total 20 weeks): 4-8 weeks
• Adolescent Medicine: 4 weeks
• Subspecialty Rotation: 8 weeks
• Continuity Clinic Rotation: 4 weeks
• Elective (total: 4 weeks): 0-4 weeks

PL-3 Year

The third year of residency consists of more intensified supervisory responsibilities and includes more time on electives, a block month in the continuity clinic, rotations in the Pediatric ER, the PICU, as well as a rotation in Hematology/Oncology at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Residents assist in supervising the program’s Continuity Clinic and provide guidance for the junior house staff in the units. The research residents’ efforts are presented in May to an audience of faculty, peers from the house staff, and friends.

• ICN (total: 16 weeks): 4 weeks
• ICU: 4 weeks
• Emergency Room (total: 20 weeks): 4-8 weeks
• Inpatient Wards: 4-8 weeks
• Roswell Park Cancer Institute: 0-4 weeks
• Subspecialty Rotation: 8 weeks
• Behavioral/Developmental Pediatrics: 4 weeks
• Continuity Clinic Rotation: 4 weeks
• Elective (total: 4 weeks): 0-4 weeks

Chief Residency

Each year, two outstanding residents are chosen as chief residents. These individuals are responsible for the administrative and educational organization of the residency program. They assist the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and the Director of the Pediatric Residency Program in organizing the residents’ rotations, medical student experiences and teaching conferences, and they participate in research projects and special programs. Chief residents are chosen for excellence in clinical performance, organizational abilities, and leadership qualities. They have an appointment as junior clinical faculty members in the Department of Pediatrics.

Subspecialty Rotations

Four subspecialties are taken in a two-month block form.  These include eight weeks of outpatient clinical experience and weekly didactic sessions.  This provides a more longitudinal exposure to subspecialty experiences.  These block rotations are in the second and third years, resulting in a total of nine subspecialty experiences.  The resident in this general pediatric program will have significant experience in every major subspecialty with the capability and flexibility to spend additional time in primary care or specialty areas.