Educational Curriculum

Our extensive and diverse curriculum is the core of the Pediatric Residency Training Program at Cincinnati Children’s. The core curriculum parallels that tested by the American Board of Pediatrics, and augments your education in pediatrics with challenging didactics.

Residents learn through a variety of formats and programs. Morning reports and noon conference presentations can be watched virtually and are archived online for your review:

Daily Conferences

• Morning Report - This high-energy conference series focuses on the growth of clinical reasoning skills by utilizing case-based presentations that facilitate discussion among residents and invited faculty. These conferences offer a great start to the day – and they include breakfast!
• Noon Conference - Invited faculty present didactic conferences in their areas of expertise. Content specifications from the American Board of Pediatrics serve as the foundation for the rotating 18 month conference curriculum. Lunch is always served.

Weekly Conferences

• Pediatric Grand Rounds - This institution-wide conference on Tuesday mornings is presented by invited speakers from around the world. Content varies from comprehensive subject reviews by field experts to ground-breaking research presentations. Conferences are presented in-person and streamed online.

Regularly Scheduled Conferences

• FIRMS Rounds (Bimonthly) - A popular, bimonthly morning report in which more complicated or rare patient cases are presented by a Chief Resident and then discussed by FIRMS made up of residents and faculty. Residents refine their ability to not only develop a differential diagnosis, but to prioritize diagnostic and management plans.
• Radiology Teaching Rounds - This morning report is led by our faculty in the Department of Radiology. The focus is not only on interpretation of radiographs, but also on the rationale behind why we order a particular study. The curriculum is centered on the diagnosis and imaging of common pediatric diseases.
• Morbidity and Mortality - This forum encourages open discussion of cases where optimal medical care was compromised. A patient case that resulted in morbidity or mortality is reviewed and systems-based changes that might prevent undesirable outcomes in the future are discussed.
• Chair Updates - Each month our Chair of Pediatrics and other senior leaders within the institution sit down with residents to discuss broad institutional initiatives and the role of physician trainees in achieving key goals.

Curriculum Series

• Board Review - This annual series focuses on test-taking strategies and question review in preparation for the Pediatric Boards. Previous lectures have been archived online for review.
• Professionalism - Faculty use interactive case discussions to highlight various issues related to professionalism, including conflict resolution, difficult conversations such as divulging a medical error, social media, and documentation, tackle issues relating to professional development through interactive case discussions.
• Cost-Value - Regularly scheduled case-based morning reports that challenges us to think critically about how to provide high value care while limiting unnecessary healthcare costs.
• Ethics and Palliative Care - A structured morning report covering topics related to end of life care, difficult family discussions, and supporting families through hardship. This is often case-based and led by faculty and staff from palliative care, ethics, and our hospital chaplains.
• PALS/NRP, Simulation Training/Clinical Labs/Code Team Training - All residents participate in our Resident Educational Sessions Using Simulation (RESUS) curriculum. Resident teams work together in a simulated setting to enhance their skills in pediatric resuscitation. Sessions, led by dedicated faculty members, provide skill-based training opportunities for common procedures such as IO and IV insertion, chest tube placement, and endotracheal intubation. Residents attend 2-4 RESUS sessions a year. Additionally, all interns are certified in PALS and NRP during Orientation and participate in a procedural workshop that reviews the basics of common pediatric procedures. Interns on their NICU rotation will attend a skills lab focused on neonatal intubation and umbilical catheter placement. Mock codes occur weekly and are randomly called throughout the institution. Mock codes are an opportunity for the bedside team to recognize clinical deterioration and initiate proper procedures, as well as activating and transitioning to the code team when they respond. In addition, code team training occurs on a monthly basis, for both day and night shift. Code Team training sessions last 30 minutes and are focused on the performance of individual roles, and the integration and function of the entire code team. All mock codes and code team training include a debriefing session.