Representation in national organizations

The residency program selects residents to serve as delegates to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Association of American Medical Colleges. Our delegates attend these national meetings annually and several residents have won awards from these national organizations for their leadership and dedication to patient advocacy.

Medical-legal partnership

The CHOP Family Justice Partnership (FJP) is a medical legal partnership with Community Legal Services (CLS) that brings physicians, nurses, social workers, and attorneys together to help some of Philadelphia’s most vulnerable children get the comprehensive care they need. As legal advocates working closely with healthcare teams, CLS attorneys within the FJP team provide no-cost legal representation to CHOP patients and families to address a number of legal issues that impact health, such as lack of heat and food insecurity. This partnership grew out of a resident advocacy project, and residents are welcome to join the interdisciplinary group to improve healthcare outcomes by addressing the social and living conditions faced by at-risk children in Philadelphia.

Homeless Health Initiative (HHI)

For over 25 years, CHOP residents have participated in voluntary service-learning through the Homeless Health Initiative. Residents provide healthcare at three West Philadelphia homeless shelters. Over the years, the service has evolved to include social work, dental care, nursing participation, health and parenting workshops, education and research and interactive parent-child development activities.

The weekly “CHOP night” medical visits are a wonderful opportunity for residents to connect with families experiencing homelessness and provide primary care in a new and challenging setting. Many residents choose to incorporate HHI into their advocacy projects.

Refugee Health Clinic

The CHOP refugee health clinic prepares residents to provide high quality pediatric primary care for immigrant families who have recently arrived in the United States. It is a community partnership with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), a refugee relocation organization that has recently resettled Burmese, Bhutanese, Iraqi, and Sudanese refugees.

Residents learn about the refugee process, population-specific screening tests, evaluation of common medical problems of a given population, and effective use of interpreter services.