Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship

Overview

The Wake Forest School of Medicine and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (WFBMC) in Winston Salem, NC sponsor a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) through the Department of Emergency Medicine.  This fellowship was accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2007.  The fellowship has a goal of training competent and compassionate physicians in PEM, and strives to accomplish this with a curriculum that encompasses four major areas:  clinical training, research, teaching, and administration. Two position per year will be offered to physicians who anticipate completion of residency training in either emergency medicine or pediatrics. There is a 2-year curriculum for EM residency graduates and a 3-year curriculum for pediatric residency graduates.

Clinical Training

The goal of the fellowship is to train physicians to be experts in PEM. Fellows will become proficient in the care of the acutely ill or injured child, which includes developing a comprehensive body of knowledge, learning technical skills associated with the practice of pediatric emergency medicine, and developing skills in the management of transport of critically ill or injured children. The majority of clinical time will be spent in the 16-bed pediatric emergency department of Brenner Children's Hospital (on campus of WFBMC), a level 1 trauma center seeing approximately 28,000 patients a year under the age of 18. Other rotations include adult emergency medicine (for pediatric graduates), pediatric clinics (for EM graduates), pediatric ICU, orthopedics, child advocacy and protection, trauma, and toxicology, as well as opportunities for electives in most subspecialites of pediatrics and emergency medicine, including ultrasound.

Faculty

There are 31 faculty members in the Department of Emergency Medicine, 4 of whom are board certified or board eligible in pediatric emergency medicine.

Research

The goal of the research curriculum is to provide education that will enable the fellow to competently analyze clinical research and to have the skills to design and execute clinical trials. There will be course work in biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design. In addition, the fellow will choose a research mentor to aid in the design, execution, and presentation of a clinical research project during the fellowship (required for pediatric graduates and encouraged for EM graduates). There will also be emphasis on critical evaluation of the medical literature through journal clubs and scientific meetings.

Teaching

A specific teaching curriculum is in place that will cover important topics in PEM. In addition, fellows will be trained in teaching skills for residents, nurses, ancillary staff, and the non-medical community. Fellows will have direct responsibility for bedside and case-based teaching as well as didactic lectures for residents in pediatrics, emergency medicine, and family practice. They will be trained in formal and informal lecture preparation and presentation, as well as in the teaching of resuscitation and technical skills. They will actively participate in journal clubs, didactic and case-based conferences and conferences related to their own dedicated academic curriculum.

Administration

Specific components of fellowship training will include quality improvement, risk management, case reviews, and leadership skills.  There will also be teaching concerning billing, documentation, legal aspects of practice, and finance management and reimbursement issues.

Application

Applications are received through the electronic residency application service (ERAS). Required documents include a curriculum vitae (CV), 3 letters of recommendation, personal statement, USMLE scores, and medical school transcripts. A photograph is recommended. Application deadline is September 15 of the current year for fellowship to begin July first of the following year. The fellowship participates in the National Resident Matching Program subspecialty match.