Teaching Conferences Curriculum| Pediatric Residency Program | Academic Programs | Department of Pediatrics | UC Davis Health

Thursdays from 12-4 p.m. are our dedicated block didactic conference time. Thursday block didactic sessions are led by diverse multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary faculty and staff. These sessions are presented in a variety of formats, including interactive case-based seminars, formal didactics, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary workshops, and simulations. Didactic sessions are based on the content specifications from the American Board of Pediatrics General Pediatrics Certifying Examination and is structured on an 18-month repeating curriculum, allowing residents two opportunities during residency to solidify their medical knowledge in each of these areas.

The first hour of these block sessions are interactive resident and faculty integrated training experiences which allow residents and faculty to learn from each other. These sessions include our Case Management Conferences, Morbidity and Mortality Conferences, Journal Clubs, and Multidisciplinary Conferences.

During the first couple of months of the academic year, interns and senior residents have didactics tailored to their level of training. Intern didactics focus on developing knowledge and skills to help transition from medical student to effective pediatrician-in-training. Senior resident didactics focus on developing knowledge and skills to be effective senior resident clinicians, educators and leaders.

Once a month, the Program Director leads a case-based discussion of an interesting patient from the wards, PICU, NICU, or ambulatory setting. This conference serves as the major case review conference for the Department and is attended by residents, medical students, and faculty. The case is distributed the week prior to the conference and advanced preparation is expected. A chief resident presents the history and physical and then the finer points of the case are discussed in a very collegial atmosphere among residents and faculty. In addition to participation in the discussion, all participants weigh in on the differential diagnosis and management via audience response system. Faculty experts, including pediatric subspecialists, pediatric radiologists, pathologists, and pediatric surgical subspecialists provide their expertise to the discussion. The program director presents a PICO (patient, population, comparison, outcome) question related to the case and article that address the question. The issues may be basic or complex but are always interesting and this is consistently the most popular and well-attended conference.

The Center for Simulation and Education Enhancement allows residents an opportunity to practice procedures and mock codes in a supportive, simulated environment. Procedure labs and mock codes are integrated into Intern Orientation, Thursday Block Didactics, as well as rotations such as pediatric emergency medicine, pediatric wards, neonatology, and pediatric critical care.

Every Friday morning, faculty, residents, as well as many community physicians gather at UC Davis Medical Center for Pediatric Grand Rounds, where a broad range of topics are presented by local, national, and international experts. This forum serves as a great opportunity to hear the latest from prominent experts.

Third-year residents develop a “state of the art” understanding of a specific topic and synthesize this information into a Grand Rounds presentation. Presentation of a mentored Grand Rounds allows residents, with the help of a faculty mentor, the opportunity to further develop their evidence-based medicine and presentation skills.