Pediatric Trainee Distinction Tracks

Resident Research Track

The goal of the resident research distinction track is to foster meaningful, collaborative scholarly activity in the area of original research for resident trainees interested in an academic career or fellowship.

Goals

• Guide the development of a robust original research, quality improvement, or curriculum-based project.
• Foster mentorship with research-oriented faculty.
• Educate residents on advanced research design and education topics, including evidence-based medicine.
• Prepare residents to submit an abstract to a local, regional, or national meeting and/or to submit a manuscript for publication.

Track Components and Requirements

1. Mentorship
   1. Research mentor(s) will be assigned or chosen based on the resident's area of interest. 
2. Scholarly Activity
   1. All residents will complete a scholarly project during their training. Required components of this project include:
      1. IRB application
      2. Meaningful participation in project design, data collection, analysis and write-up. 
      3. Submission of scholarly work or to a local, regional, or national meeting or publication by the end of the residency program.
3. Monthly Conferences and Workshops
   1. Rotating 2-year curriculum, topics include: IRB application process, literature search, citation management software, advanced biostatistics, abstract and manuscript preparation, etc.
   2. Quarterly group conferences and workshops with other distinction tracks.
   3. Must attend at least 50% of these conferences or workshops
4. Semi-annual Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC) Presentations
   1. PGY-1 (Med/Peds PGY-1 or 2): potential project ideas; early design planning and feedback.
   2. PGY-2 (Med/Peds PGY-2 or 3):
      1. Fall - refining research idea and design
      2. Spring - department-wide presentation of research concept (and any data collection)
   3. PGY-3 (Med/Peds PGY-3 or 4): Data collection updates and final abstract/poster/manuscript preparation and presentation.
5. Research Elective
   1. All residents may participate in a 2-4 week research elective during their training. Research track members are able to participate in additional elective time or may split their elective time into multiple blocks on their schedule to focus on research design vs. data collection.

Residents who successfully complete the required elements will graduate with a certificate and letter of distinction from the track coordinator.

The University of Louisville Pediatric Medical Education distinction track is a two and a half year longitudinal curriculum that weaves robust medical education, scholarly activity, elective rotations, mentoring and focused educational experiences together to explore the role of pediatricians as educators. Residents interested in improving their skills and professional identity as clinician educators are encouraged to apply during the 2^nd half of their intern year. Cohorts of 4-6 residents progress through the curriculum, collaborating in their learning and teaching.

Highlights

• Robust, mentored scholarly activity in self-identified Medical Education project.
• Tracks are opt-in: Because residents are not required to complete a distinction track in residency, members of each cohort will be motivated and passionate about medical education!
• We have set high expectations for our team to create great projects ready for conference and journal submission, while knowing that many residents have never performed a curriculum development project or studied educational outcomes. To reach our goals, quarterly meetings with medical education experts are held to share ideas, promote project movement and introduce/teach principles of Med Ed scholarly activity. To show off their hard work, each resident will present a capstone presentation to the Department of Pediatrics in the Spring of their graduation year. 

Didactics

• Track conference is held on the second Wednesday of each month. Topics rotate throughout the year according to the interests or needs of the current group. Additionally, there are quarterly "All Track Conferences" on these days, where the Advocacy, Global Health, Medical Education and Research Distinction Tracks get together for topics that span all areas of interest.
• Asynchronous learning consists of a guided walkthrough of a Medical Education textbook (~1 chapter/article per month). These will be reviewed and discussed during the Spring Elective in a flipped classroom-style session. 

Goals

• Create a robust experience in medical education across multiple disciplines and platforms.
• Educate future academic physicians in adult learning theory through innovative curricula, committee involvement and strong mentorship.
• Compose and disseminate meaningful scholarly activity in the area of medical education.
• Advance the University of Louisville residency program’s culture of learning and growth by developing leaders in education.
• Provide opportunities to apply developing knowledge and skills in medical student and resident educational programs.

Track Components and Requirements

1. Mentorship
   1. Medical Education mentor(s) will be assigned/chosen based on an area of interest.
2. Scholarly Activity
   1. Participants will complete a scholarly activity project on a medical education topic. For project completion, the resident will be required to participate in Medical Education Scholarly Oversight Committee Meetings and submit this work to a local, regional or national platform, with expected presentation.
3. Didactics
   1. Monthly, Medical Education Focused Workshops
   2. Asynchronous Didactics (Podcasts, interesting medical education articles)
   3. Medical Education Textbook Walkthrough
      1. 2021-2022 - "Kern's Curriculum Development" edited by Dr. David E. Kern, Dr. Patricia A. Thomas and Dr. Mark T. Hughes
      2. 2022-2023 - "Researching Medical Education" edited by Dr. Jennifer Cleland and Dr. Steven J. Durning
      3. 2023-2024 - "Curriculum Development for Medical Education" edited by Dr. Patricia A. Thomas, Dr. David E. Kern and Dr. Belinda Y. Chen
      4. 2024-2025 - "Researching Medical Education" edited by Dr. Jennifer Cleland and Dr. Steven J. Durning
4. Elective Rotations
   1. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in an annual medical education elective (Medical Education Elective, Research in Medical Education Elective).
5. Medical Education Leadership, Presentation and Committee Involvement:
   1. Track participants are expected to complete a medical education-focused presentation at the department level during their final year of training. Additionally, they should have a significant contribution and/or leadership to a resident medical education committee or educational opportunity. These experiences could include the medical student education committee, teaching PBL to medical students, simulation education, oversight of 4^th year medical student peer-assisted learning program, among others.
6. Medical Education Portfolio
   1. In the Spring of PGY-3, each participant will give a presentation that includes a summary of the following:
      1. Scholarly project(s)
      2. Educational presentations
      3. Leadership activities and productivity in educational programs/initiatives.
      4. Experience and outcomes of the Med Ed Elective
      5. SMART goals

Residents who successfully complete the required elements will graduate with a certificate and letter of distinction from the track coordinator.

The University of Louisville Child Advocacy Distinction Track is a longitudinal experience that weaves an advocacy scholarly project, elective rotations and focused workshop experiences together to explore the role of pediatricians as advocacy and child health leaders.

Goals

• Create a robust experience in advocating for children on multiple population levels (individual, hospital/clinic, local, state and national).
• Educate future leaders in child advocacy through innovative curricula, committee involvement and strong mentorship.
• Foster and disseminate meaningful scholarly activity in child advocacy.
• Improve the health and well-being of children in our community through physician development and leadership.
• Provide an avenue to grow as a resident through advocacy, while still allowing broad focus on all aspects of resident education.

Components

1. Mentorship (Advocacy mentor(s) will be assigned/chosen based upon area of interest.)
   1. Drafting an AAP-CATCH grant (Due January of PGY-2)
   2. Completion of an advocacy/community health scholarly activity in a topic of the resident's choosing during training.
   3. Presentation of scholarly activity at a local, regional, or national platform in the spring of PGY-3.
2. Topic-Focused Workshops
   1. Fundamentals of Working with a Community (including needs assessment and asset mapping). Participation in at least six is required.
   2. Literature Review
   3. Grant writing
   4. Leadership
   5. Health Policy
   6. Media and Writing
   7. Advocacy Journal Club
   8. Advocacy beyond residency - SMART goals
3. Electives
   1. Participants in child advocacy track can elect Poverty and Social Justice, Global Health, Forensics, or Advanced Advocacy as an elective rotation (dependent upon career goals).
   2. Can apply for national conferences, including AAP legislative conference.
4. Leadership
   1. Track participants are expected to have a leadership role in the resident-led advocacy program PUSH (Pediatricians Urging Safety and Health). This can include:
      1. President or other officer
      2. Committee member (community or legislative)
      3. Children's Day organizer
      4. Project leader or event organizer
   2. Opportunity to create an advocacy learning module (podcast, blackboard module, etc.) on a topic of their choice.
   3. Establish or continue a relationship with a community partner. This can be individualized to the resident's career goals and should demonstrate how a pediatrician (either general or subspecialty) can be a lifelong advocate. Examples include: a group home, school, Medicaid, AAP chapter, etc. This relationship can be part of the scholarly project, but does not have to be.
5. Advocacy Portfolio
   1. In the spring of the resident's PGY-3, each participant will give a 20-minute presentation that includes a summary of the following:
      1. Scholarly project
      2. Advocacy writing/Advocacy policy background and strategy
      3. Community partner report
      4. SMART goal

Residents who successfully complete the required elements will graduate with a certificate and letter of distinction from the track coordinator.

For residents with a more defined interest in global health, the residency program has offered a Global Health Distinction Track since July 1, 2018.

Goals

• Gain a deep understanding of worldwide health and economic inequities, with an emphasis on the historic roots of these disparities.
• Develop a broad knowledge of the global burden of pediatric diseases, with special attention paid to common causes of pediatric mortality, vaccine preventable diseases, mosquito borne infections and neglected tropical diseases.
• Gain an appreciation of issues related to public health, professionalism and cultural sensitivity.
• Maintain and foster a passion for partnering with populations who face limited access to health care and health care resources.

Track Components and Requirements:

1. Elective rotations
   1. Domestic Global Health (2 week rotation)
   2. International Elective in Tamale, Ghana (or other AMPATH sites)
2. Core Curriculum Noon Conference Topics (Rotating 18-month curriculum)
   1. Social and Economic Determinants of Health
   2. Global Burden of Disease (Global Health 101)
   3. Vaccine Preventable Diseases
   4. Malaria
   5. Refugee Health Issues
   6. Global Health as Public Health
3. Optional Web-based modules (available if unable to attend our in-person educational sessions)
   1. Global burden of non-communicable diseases
   2. Impact of global child health on the US communities
   3. Environmental impact on global child health
   4. Approach to internationally adopted children
   5. Water-borne and vector-borne illnesses/neglected tropical diseases
   6. Approach to fever in low-resource settings
   7. Approach to non-infectious emergencies in low-resource settings
   8. Malnutrition
4. Travel preparation and post-travel debriefing
5. Global Health Seminars
   1. Monthly noon conference series for track residents
      1. Journal Clubs
      2. Ethics Case Sessions
      3. Guest speaker seminars
      4. Case presentations
      5. Critical Reflections regarding various aspects of global child health (medical, cultural, ethical, etc.)
      6. Workshops
6. Critical Reflections on Global Health Experiences
   1. This is a requirement of the Distinction Track and for any residents participating in international electives. Reflection question suggestions will be provided by our core global health faculty.
7. Scholarly Activity
   1. All residents participating in the Global Health Distinction Track are required to complete a scholarly project related to global child health, health inequities, or healthcare issues of marginalized populations. Scholarly activity may be related to our international programs or may pertain to local issues of health equity, which affect populations here in Kentucky.

All Global Health opportunities are available to all residents, regardless of track participation. However, if there is limited space for some experiences (such as our international rotations) priority is given to our global health track participants.