Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship
Scholarly Activities
Scholarly activity is a requirement of the requirement of the ACGME. Through the research rotations, the fellowship program provides training and experience in the fundamentals of conducting research sufficient to facilitate a career in academic medicine. As many fellows subsequently work in private practice, scholarly activity will also prepare fellows for that role.
All fellows are expected to gain experience in both tracks, namely:
- Research – A basic science, translational or clinical research project, leading to a presentation at a major national meeting or a publication in a peer-reviewed journal
- A quality improvement (QI) or clinical care project – The fellows participate in a group project with mentorship from neonatologists with additional training in QI. Examples of previous fellows QI projects include improving time of administration of antibiotics and reducing interruptions during fellows sign out.
- To gain the capacity to conceive, formulate and execute a mentored clinical, translational or basic science research project, which will serve as a basis for a career as an academic neonatologist; or participate in a project of substantive scholarly exploration
- To identify areas of clinical care that are managed poorly. To develop protocols to address these concerns, ensure that relevant physician and nursing staff are invested in needed improvement and assessing the results of interventions
- To learn the essentials of data collection and analysis, including the proper use of statistical methodology
- To learn to write coherently in order to facilitate communication of scientific information in the medical literature
- To be able to present comfortably in an open forum (research conferences, departmental research presentations, , other regional and national meetings, and medical/nursing staff meetings)
- To be able to explain medical and research issues to nursing and allied health personnel
By the end of training, the NPM fellow will have demonstrated competency in scholarly activity by:
- Completing the Pediatric Core Curriculum for Subspecialty Residents requirements
- Presenting research-in-progress at a Neonatal Research Conference
- Submitting original abstracts to:
- The Department of Pediatrics Annual Fellows' Research Symposium
- Regional Pediatric/Neonatal meetings
- National Pediatric/Neonatal meetings (Pediatric Academic Societies, American Academy of Pediatrics Perinatal Section meeting)
- Appropriate national subspecialty meetings
- Generating specific QI improvements and innovations
- Generating a specific written scholarly activity work product, mandated by the American Board of Pediatrics, approved by the individual's Scholarly Oversight Committee. Examples include a peer-reviewed publication in which the fellow played a substantial role or an in-depth manuscript describing a completed project
The following are mechanisms to ensure appropriate training and guidance during research rotations:
- Choice of research mentor, under the guidance of the NPM program director and a subgroup of faculty, based on the fellow's research interests. The research mentor serves on the fellow's Scholarly Oversight Committee and reports to the NPM program director
- Scholarly Oversight Committee (see below)
- Meeting with the NPM program director at regular intervals to review evaluations, personal goals, objectives and progress in the program, both clinically and in research
- Supplemental sponsored tutorials on statistical analysis, grant writing, research methodology, study design, in conjunction with the Introduction to Clinical Research Course
Review of scholarly (research) activity occurs at the local level. Once a mentor is identified, a Scholarly Oversight Committee is assembled. The committee will:
- Determine a course of preparation beyond the core fellowship curriculum to ensure successful completion of the project
- Meet with the fellow early in the training period and regularly thereafter
- Evaluate progress of the fellow as related to the scholarly activity and identify any difficulties/barriers to success in the scholarly activity
- Require the fellow to present/defend the project related to the scholarly activity
Advise the NPM program director on the progress of the fellow and assess whether the guidelines associated with the requirement for active participation in scholarly activity has been met.
More About the Program
The UC Davis neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship offers training to eligible fellows for a period of three years. First accredited by the ACGME in 1984, our training program is designed to fulfill the training requirements of the American Board of Pediatrics.
Mission
To prepare fellows to be independent and competent practitioners of neonatal-perinatal medicine, as well as scholars in the field.
Aims
1) Prepare graduates to be highly competent autonomous practitioners in neonatal-perinatal medicine.
2) Graduate fellows capable of strong scholarly work and prepare graduates for a successful career in academic and/or clinical neonatal-perinatal medicine.
Get in Touch With Us
For more information or questions, please contact:
Program Coordinator
hs-pedsfellowship@ucdavis.edu
Kristin Hoffman, M.D.
Director, Fellowship Training Program
916-734-3261
krhoffman@ucdavis.edu