Residents interested in Pediatric Hospital Medicine should seek out experiences that provide a comprehensive understanding of the management of acutely and chronically ill children in the inpatient setting. This includes exposure to a wide range of conditions, from common pediatric illnesses to complex post-surgical care and medically fragile patients requiring multidisciplinary coordination. Residents should actively participate in consultations, co-management of surgical patients, and direct patient care across tertiary, community, and newborn hospital settings. Engaging in hospital operations, including patient flow, bed management, and interdepartmental collaboration, will provide insight into the broader role of the hospitalist beyond bedside care. Developing procedural skills relevant to hospital medicine, such as airway management, vascular access, and lumbar punctures, is essential. Additionally, residents are encouraged to explore quality improvement initiatives, medical education opportunities, and leadership roles within hospital medicine to prepare for future careers in the field.
Contact
Kenna Sheak
Hospital Medicine Rotation Director
Essential Elective
Hospital Medicine Elective
This half or full block Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) elective provides residents with hands-on experience consulting and co-managing pediatric inpatients with surgical teams (e.g., Orthopedics, ENT, Neurosurgery, General Surgery). The focus is on post-operative management, including preventing and addressing complications.
Primary Responsibilities
- Serve as primary responders, taking direct calls for hospitalist consults from outpatient clinics, the emergency department, or inpatient teams.
- Rotate with the Liberty Hospital Medicine team to gain experience in community-based inpatient management.
- Exposure to hospital operations, including patient flow, bed management, and interdepartmental coordination.
Through this experience, residents will develop a deeper understanding of the hospitalist’s role beyond direct patient care, preparing them for leadership roles in PHM.
Recommended Electives
Infectious Diseases
Residents on this half or full block elective will join the pediatric infectious disease consult team, evaluating and managing children with both common and complex infections. They will round on inpatients, discuss diagnostic approaches, and help tailor antimicrobial therapy. Residents will interact with microbiology and pharmacy teams to optimize antimicrobial stewardship strategies and review infection control protocols, participating in efforts to prevent hospital-acquired infections.
Neurology (Inpatient & Outpatient)
Residents on this half or full block elective will evaluate and manage children with neurological conditions across inpatient and outpatient settings. On the inpatient service, they will care for children with acute conditions such as stroke, epilepsy, movement disorders, and neuromuscular diseases, coordinating diagnostic workups and treatment plans. In outpatient clinics, they will follow patients with chronic neurologic conditions, engaging in long-term care strategies and collaborating with subspecialists in multidisciplinary clinics.
Complex care Clinic
Residents on this half block elective will provide care for children with medical complexity, many of whom rely on technology such as gastrostomy tubes, tracheostomies, and home ventilators. They will coordinate care with multiple subspecialists, primary care providers, and home health teams while managing chronic diseases and acute exacerbations. They will work with families to develop and adjust long-term care plans and navigate challenges related to home care, insurance, and medical equipment.
Residents as Teachers
Residents on this half block elective will refine their teaching and mentorship skills by leading bedside teaching sessions, small group discussions, and didactic lectures. They will work with medical students and junior residents, providing feedback and facilitating learning during clinical encounters. They will also observe and receive coaching on effective teaching strategies, with opportunities to practice giving case-based presentations and guiding learners through clinical reasoning exercises.
Other Electives
Newborn Medicine
Residents on this half block elective will care for newborns in the well-baby nursery with our community hospitalists, conducting routine assessments and monitoring for common neonatal conditions such as jaundice, hypoglycemia, and feeding difficulties. They will work closely with lactation consultants and pediatricians to provide anticipatory guidance to new parents. Additionally, they will participate in neonatal resuscitations and stabilization of infants requiring transfer to a higher level of care.
High Risk Clinic
Residents on this half block elective will follow medically complex infants and children with a history of NICU admission for developmental or medical complications. They will conduct comprehensive follow-up visits, addressing growth, nutrition, respiratory concerns, and neurodevelopmental progress. They will collaborate with subspecialists, therapists, and social workers to coordinate care and provide early interventions for at-risk children.
Transport Team
Residents on this half block elective will work alongside the pediatric transport team, stabilizing and transporting critically ill infants and children from referring hospitals, emergency departments, and inpatient units. They will participate in pre-transport stabilization, learning to assess and intervene in real-time during high-acuity scenarios. They will gain experience in respiratory management during transport and collaborate with flight or ground teams to ensure safe patient handoff upon arrival.
Simulation
Residents on this half block elective will engage in high-fidelity simulation training focused on advanced resuscitation, crisis resource management, and procedural skills. They will participate in the facilitation of interdisciplinary team-based simulations, managing critically ill patients in scenarios such as sepsis, respiratory failure, and cardiac arrest. Additionally, they may have the opportunity refine procedural skills such as airway management, vascular access, and point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), with real-time coaching and debriefing.
PICU Elective
Residents on this half or full block elective will care for critically ill pediatric patients in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. They will be responsible for ventilator management, hemodynamic support, and monitoring of children with multi-organ failure, severe infections, and post-operative complications. They will participate in daily rounds, collaborate with intensivists, and make real-time clinical decisions in high-acuity settings. The focus will be on operations and the role of the PICU in our facility including admissions, consultations, medical response and code team activations, and interfaculty transfers.
Hospice & Palliative care
Residents on this half block elective will work with the palliative care team to support children with serious and life-limiting conditions. They will participate in goals-of-care discussions, symptom management plans, and end-of-life decision-making. They will collaborate with interdisciplinary teams, including social workers and chaplains, to address the psychosocial and emotional needs of patients and families. Hospice experiences will provide insight into home-based palliative care and the transition from curative to comfort-focused care.
Child Abuse
Residents on this half block elective will work with child protection teams to evaluate and manage cases of suspected child maltreatment. They will learn to conduct thorough medical assessments, document findings, and collaborate with social services and law enforcement. They will participate in forensic evaluations, discuss cases with child abuse specialists, and contribute to the multidisciplinary response to child welfare concerns.
Recommended procedures
- Bag mask ventilation
- Bladder catheterization
- CPR
- Hemorrhage control
- Lumbar Puncture
- Peripheral IV/venipuncture
- Gastrostomy tube replacement
- Tracheostomy change
Optional procedures
- Procedural sedation
- Defibrillation
- Needle chest tube
- Endotracheal intubation
- IO
- POCUS
Other Experiences
Simulation Training: Advanced training in procedural skills and resuscitation.
Specialized Conferences: Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) and Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM).
Longitudinal Experiences: Opportunities in quality improvement, medical education, and leadership development.
Scholarly Activity
Most applicants pursuing Hospital Medicine participate in a scholarly project. The project does not have to be housed in the Division of Hospital Medicine, but most residents applying to Hospital Medicine have completed a project with a Division mentor. The quality the mentoring and methodology are the most important criteria programs consider.
Professional Organizations
- Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) – Section on Hospital Medicine (SoHM)
Journals & Online Resources
Journals
- Hospital Pediatrics
- Journal of Hospital Medicine
Podcast