Curriculum

The first year is designed to give our residents broad exposure to general pediatric and specialty service patient experiences. This is accomplished through a balance of in- and outpatient rotations. As an intern, you will learn by taking on direct patient care responsibilities while still under the supervision of senior residents and attending physicians committed to your resident education. During this year, residents begin caring for patients as part of a continuity clinic team where they gain experience in primary care pediatrics.

During you intern year, you participate in two elective rotations that you can use to tailor your individualized curriculum.

In addition to clinical responsibilities, first-year residents participate in academic, educational, and career development experiences. These include daily case conferences, the intern academic half-day curriculum, the selection of a faculty mentor, and an introduction to research and quality-improvement opportunities.

Second-year residents have more responsibility. They are team leaders on the floors. They cover deliveries while on their NICU rotation at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital.

They also gain additional critical care experience in the PICU. During their neurology rotation, our second-year residents often function in a consultative role in addition to being a part of the neurology team. One month on night team rounds out the inpatient rotations for the second-year residents.

Outpatient rotations in the second year provide additional experience in our Danis Pediatrics Center (primary care/ambulatory) and emergency department. Three sub-specialty electives during the second year allow residents to explore career options more deeply.

Third-year residents have an additional month of Level 3 NICU at SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital to further hone their neonatal resuscitation and neonatal skills. They will have a second manth of PICU, two additional months of emergency medicine, a month of inpatient medicine as team senior, and a month of nights. They will have two additional inpatient months that they can choose based on their educational needs and career plan.

There is an outpatient teach month at our new Tower Grove Danis Clinic where our third-year residents interact with and teach third-year medical students in an outpatient setting. During the last year, residents will also have their choice of four electives to complete their individualized curriculum. One elective many of our residents choose is the Inpatient Teach elective, where they have dedicated time to work on their teaching skills by educating third-year clerkship students on the floor teams.