Please click on this link to hear from our residents about why you should choose to come to the UC Davis Pediatric Residency program.

Program Overview

The University of California Davis Department of Pediatrics Residency Program is a nationally-recognized program that trains pediatricians to be outstanding physicians who serve as leaders in both their communities and profession. Our alumni have a thorough understanding of the special health care needs of our nation's most precious resource, its children.

Our program is based at the UC Davis Children's Hospital in Sacramento, a 129-bed hospital that includes state-of-the-art 49-bed neonatal and 24-bed pediatric intensive care and pediatric cardiac intensive care units. The UC Davis Children’s Hospital's includes:

• Pediatric Emergency Department and Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center
• Pediatric Ward
• Pediatric and Cardiac Intensive Care Units offering ECLS (extra-corporeal life support)
• First Level 1 Children’s Surgery Center on the West Coast and fourth in the nation
• Baby-Friendly Designated newborn nursery
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
• Subspecialty consult services
• The MIND Institute for neurodevelopmental research and care
• The Pediatric Telemedicine program
• The Center for Simulation and Education Enhancement

UC Davis is the major referral center for a large geographic area including most of Northern California, Western Nevada, and Southern Oregon, and is the only pediatric residency program in Northern California outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Our patient population reflects the rich diversity of the area providing unique opportunities for residents caring for families with different cultural origins.

Ambulatory training takes place in a variety of sites including UC Davis, Federally Qualified Health Centers (Sacramento County Health Center, Sacramento Native American Health Center), Kaiser (the largest Health Maintenance Organization on the West Coast), and Shriners Hospital for Children. Community-based education is located in diverse neighborhoods in Sacramento, Yolo, and Yuba counties.

In order to provide residents the opportunity to develop the skills, knowledge, and experiences to serve as leaders within their community and their profession, all residents complete a Scholarly Project during residency. Residents select their scholarly project in any of 4 focus areas: research, community health and advocacy, quality improvement and patient safety, or medical education. Each resident will design and implement a scholarly project that will culminate in the preparation of an abstract and poster during their third year of residency. Residents have successfully presented their scholarship at national conferences and published in peer-reviewed journals. We look forward to preparing residents for a career that involves a lifetime of learning and unlimited possibilities.

Our medium-sized program accepts thirteen residents each year that help to facilitate resident cohesiveness. Although we have several pediatric fellowship programs, residents primarily work directly with faculty, allowing for close interactions between faculty and residents. Faculty are readily accessible and provide teaching in both formal and informal settings. One of our greatest strengths is the quality of the residents themselves, who have a long tradition of providing input into all aspects of training.

Sacramento is the capitol of the State of California and presents many opportunities for advocacy, education, and an affordable lifestyle. Sacramento is an easily accessible, friendly, family-oriented city known for its strong neighborhoods and parks. Time Magazine called Sacramento the most diverse city in America. Also known as the City of Trees, Sacramento offers numerous outdoor (i.e., hiking, camping, kayaking, skiing) and cultural activities and is in close proximity to Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, and San Francisco. Sacramento is increasingly recognized as a must-visit-town for anyone who loves food with multiple “farm-to-fork” restaurants, specialty coffee, bakeries, food trunks, and craft beer breweries. It is home to the Sacramento Kings (NBA) and Sacramento Republic FC (MLS), as well as the minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, the Sacramento Rivercats.