Clinical Experiences and Curriculum
Our multi-site training program gives our trainees the opportunity to practice patient care in urban-underserved settings, complex specialty pediatric care, global health sites around the world, rural Minnesota, and community hospitals and clinics. The range of patients we care for means that our residents have incredible opportunities to explore career paths and build their skills as they discover what their next steps hold.
Residents at the University of Minnesota get a broad foundation in primary care starting early in their training. Residents participate in an immersion experience in their first year (4 weeks) and second year (4 additional weeks) called Primary Care Fundamentals (PCF). During their PCF rotation, residents are immersed in their continuity clinic site to help them build the roots of their outpatient primary care experience throughout residency.
Given our broad network of community partners, we are able to offer a rich selection of continuity clinic sites including urban pediatrics, free-standing children’s hospital based clinics, and suburban private practice. This longitudinal experience fosters a very strong mentorship between preceptor and continuity resident, and is something that our residents regard very highly during their residency and beyond.
Residents build on their primary care skillset in our robust Developmental-Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine rotations which include case-based seminars, simulation sessions, and clinical training sites throughout the Twin Cities.
Residents in the University of Minnesota pediatric residency program have access to unparalleled subspecialty education. Rotations at the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital provide an impressive foundation in subspecialty training at a tertiary referral center. Residents will gain experience caring for patients with a wide variety of complex diseases including bone marrow and solid organ transplant patients. Residents will also have access to a large network of mentors as they consider fellowship training in pediatric subspecialty.
A unique aspect of our program is the opportunity to also explore subspecialty pediatrics in a private practice setting. Residents can take advantage of subspecialty rotations at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, Gillette Children’s Hospital, and Hennepin Healthcare. This broad exposure to subspecialty care allows residents to not only determine their field of choice, but also get exposure to the possible career pathways in subspecialty medicine after training.
The multi-site nature of our training program allows our trainees to build their skills in a variety of settings. Our residents become experts in systems of healthcare delivery and see a huge variety of patient conditions, ranging from cutting edge transplant medicine to community pediatrics. Because our residency program is the only residency program in the Twin Cities, our residents have unparalleled access to every aspect of pediatric care and receive incredibly well-rounded training that sets them up for success in their future careers, from primary care to hospital medicine to subspecialty pediatrics.
Global Health Opportunities
The University of Minnesota pediatric residency program offers one of the most unique and diversified pediatric global health education programs in the country. Home to the nation's first Division of Global Pediatrics, which has since evolved into a Center, global health education is considered a priority for all UMN pediatric residents. Core instruction in global child health is incorporated into the general curriculum, and an elective at our world-renowned adoption clinic is opened to all residents. Residents with special interest in global health may opt in to the global health track, and thereby have further opportunities for clinical electives in international pediatrics and Native American child health.
Minnesota is home to more refugees per capita than any other state, and has a large immigrant population. Global health track residents can explore the "Global is Local" aspect of global health issues through an elective as well. Finally, track residents who complete the University of Minnesota Global Health Course may become eligible for certification in tropical medicine by the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, an invaluable opportunity afforded by very few residency programs.
We are pioneers in innovative modes of global health education, and through collaborative efforts with domestic and international partners, have published and disseminated a competency-based global health curriculum and several training programs now being used throughout the world including SUGAR (Simulation Use for Global Away Rotations) and PEARLS (Procedural Education for Adaptation to Resource Limited Settings).
The Masons fund trainees to work outside of the Twin Cities in a variety of settings. This link will also take you to information regarding Scholarship Funding offered by the Masons for our Pediatric Residents to further their professional development and scholarly work and additional information regarding our Collaborative Office Rounds Lunch and Learn sessions that happen monthly and are facilitated by local mental health professionals.
Residents in our program receive superb training in pediatric hospital medicine through rotations on inpatient teams at UMMCH, Children’s Minnesota (Minneapolis & St. Paul Campuses), and HCMC. Each site provides a different example of hospital medicine so residents have a well-rounded experience during their training. While on their inpatient pediatric rotations, residents have the opportunity to care for kids with “bread and butter” pediatric diagnoses, to coordinate care for medically complex patients, and to co-manage patients with subspecialty and surgical teams.
For residents interested in pursuing a career as a pediatric hospitalist, we have an ACGME-accredited PHM fellowship available in the Twin Cities, with its primary site at UMMCH and rotations at Children's MN. Our fellowship offers a fantastic opportunity for additional training in quality improvement, research, education, and leadership. Additionally, it is anticipated that hospital medicine will soon be an official subspecialty of the American Board of Pediatrics, and fellowship training required for those who want to be board-certified.
Any Further Questions?
Contact us at:
pedsres@umn.edu