Alumni Notes: Winter 2021

Contributed by Cindy W. Christian, MD Dear CHOP Alumni Family,

Remember our CHOP Alumni Motto: Keep … Tradition, Keep … in Mind, Keep … in Touch!

For this column, we are once again revisiting a new tradition. I have invited our now 5 (!) Fabulous chief residents to provide an update on the residency training program at CHOP. This pandemic year has brought new challenges, and our residents have worked tirelessly to meet these difficult times. Enjoy these interesting updates. And a special thanks to Zoe, Annie, Tim, Christina and Sarah. And finally, we are all terribly impacted by the pandemic and other national and global challenges. I wish you all better days ahead soon, and wishes for brightness in your days.

Chief Residents 2020-2021

From the Chief Residents

As the 2020-2021 Chief Residents, it is our pleasure to highlight new and exciting updates from the Pediatric Residency Program, with a focus on how we have tailored resident education in the era of COVID-19. Between switching to a new residency structure and a pandemic, we can’t believe that our chief year is nearly halfway done! We continue to push ourselves to be innovators in medical education, to refine our educational mission, to understand how racial and socioeconomic inequalities affect kids of all ages, and to ultimately facilitate a curricula that will train the next generation of pediatric leaders.

Residency in a Pandemic

The worldwide spread of COVID-19, mitigation of viral spread with mask-wearing and virtual schooling, and need to limit physical interaction has created a unique time for the current crop of pediatric residents to learn their trade. Gone are the days of innumerable bronchiolitis and asthma admissions, the garden variety “viral syndrome” diagnosis in the ED or clinic, and traditional hallway rounding. To address all of the COVID-driven changes, we have been actively re-shaping residency education. Educational conferences have moved to a hybrid virtual format, telemedicine visits now supplement in-person clinic encounters, we have embraced restrictions and created more interactive and small-group teaching, and we have expanded opportunities for personal reflection and community advocacy. While the pandemic has certainly created many roadblocks, the residents have truly risen to the occasion and watching them continue to grow in unanticipated ways has been a privilege.

Recruitment season is a busy and exciting time of the year and an opportunity to showcase CHOP and all it has to offer. We now have the opportunity to do this in a completely virtual format for the current group of pediatric residency applicants. Fortunately, Dawn Young, who previously coordinated the pediatric clerkship and sub-intern experiences at CHOP, has joined the CHOP residency family and is specifically assisting with recruitment in partnership with Dr Adelaide Barnes. We are excited for this new twist on recruitment and can’t wait to welcome a new crop of CHOP residents in June!

Transition to X+Y

We have officially transitioned to a new residency structure as of June 2020, colloquially known as “X+Y.” In this model, the residents now complete 6 weeks (the “X”) of largely inpatient, ED, or structured subspecialty experiences without the burden of leaving for continuity clinic 1 half-day per week. This 6-week period is followed by 2 weeks (the “Y”) of an ambulatory experience consisting of continuity clinic, advocacy experiences, a dedicated academic half-day, and personalized elective time. Residents follow this same 6+2 cycle throughout their 3 years of training. So far, this has led to more in-depth inpatient experiences, greater continuity in clinic, the creation of numerous educational opportunities, and enhanced camaraderie among the classes of residents.

New Curricula

The X+Y structure has afforded unique opportunities to create new curricula and expand upon previous offerings. All of the interns and second years now partake in an interprofessional curriculum, spending time with nurses, case managers, social workers, respiratory therapists, pharmacists, and child life specialists. We created a new “Top 5” curriculum, which allows PL2s and PL3s to receive structured teaching from experts in numerous subspecialties, discussing the “Top 5” things a pediatrician should know about a specific specialty upon graduation. Lastly, with more dedicated teaching time, we have substantially built upon the point-of-care ultrasound and health equity curriculums to stay on the cutting edge of pediatric residency education.

Thank You

We would like to thank the CHOP Alumni Association for its ongoing support of resident education and wellness. With your support, we celebrate Fellow and Resident Appreciation Week each March show appreciation for our trainees. In May 2021, we also look forward to planning the Resident and Fellows Grand Rounds series. These Grand Rounds sessions highlight the amazing research accomplishments of our trainees and would not be possible without continued support from the CHOP Alumni Association.

From L to R: Zoe Bouchelle, MD, Annie Gula, MD, Timothy Nelin, MD, Christina Rojas, MD, and Sarah Capponi, MD