Frequently Asked Questions About Christiana Care Med-Peds
What are some unique features of the med-peds residency at Christiana Care Health System?
Our med-peds schedule is unique. In the first two months of internship med-peds interns rotate in both departments (one rotation in medicine and one rotation in pediatrics). We find this makes the first med-peds transition less stressful and allows you to not wait until the fall for the first transition (most programs have their first transition after 3-6 rotations not after the first rotation).
Transition Care: We have a primary care transition practice as well as congenital heart disease; cystic fibrosis, HIV and Survivor of Childhood Cancer Clinic.
Preceptorship
Diverse patient population including underserved care
Resident initiatives (performance improvement, global health, mini-MBA, mini-MPH)
What is Christiana Care Health System looking for in a resident?
We are looking for someone who is knowledgeable, compassionate and empathetic. We want someone who will be a team player and a colleague to the current housestaff and medical students. Our residents are often described as enthusiastic, conscientious, hard-working and well-rounded.
We encourage residents to be active participants in community activities, national and local committees and resident research.
What can I expect in the patient population?
Christiana Care offers primary care and tertiary care for people in Delaware, southern New Jersey, northern Maryland and southeastern Pennsylvania.
The diverse patient population is from urban, suburban and rural areas with typical and exotic diseases and conditions. Our morning report will show you how vast is the experience at Christiana Care Health System and A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children.
Emphasis on working with the underserved is a feature of our resident practice. With a catchment area of over 1 million people, the system provides residents the ability to care for patients with a broad range of primary care. Secondary, tertiary care medical problems as well as socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Are the medicine and pediatrics departments of equal quality? Do they provide equal educational opportunity?
Our medicine, pediatrics and Med-Peds faculty are here to ensure you a top-notch clinical experience with appropriate autonomy, responsibility and teaching.
Both internal medicine and pediatrics have a challenging academic curriculum. Both departments are strong and work together to make combined training smooth.
Training in both disciplines includes academic conferences given by leading experts from all over the nation. There are weekly core conferences and grand rounds within both departments.
You will also learn by caring for diverse patient mixes with a broad spectrum of primary and tertiary care conditions.
Campuses are linked with educational conferences that are videoconferenced remotely.
What are the outpatient experiences for Med-Peds residents? Is there a combined practice?
All Med-Peds residents have a continuity practice and provide outpatient care for both adults and children during the same session. The practice is located at Wilmington Hospital, and residents attend one half-day each week. The balance and number of adult and pediatric patients is monitored by the program director. Currently we have a nice patient mix; 40 percent of our practice is pediatrics.
In the PGY-3 and PGY-4 years, each resident spends an additional half-day per week working with a Med-Peds faculty member in their office. This is a great opportunity to learn the business aspect of medicine and see different types of patients in an office-practice setting. This time can also be spent working with our optometrist, physical therapists and dermatologists.
There are numerous ambulatory-based electives available to work with community physicians and subspecialists.
In general, residents are in the outpatient setting for about 50 percent of their residency.
We have a two-year ambulatory curriculum that is multimedia-based and well organized by subject for residents to follow.
Are there any Med-Peds faculty or physicians in the community who are vested in the education of combined residents?
There are 26 Med-Peds physicians (20 work for Christiana Care Health System and many have roles in the system) in the immediate northern Delaware community (including the program director and associate director). Most have Med-Peds residents in their offices.
Our program director completed a Med-Peds residency and a chief residency at the University of Cincinnati and Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati. Our associate director completed a Med-Peds residency and chief residency here at Christiana Care.
We have five other Med-Peds faculty, John Donnelly, Allison Buonocore, Rani Singh-Patel, Dan Elliott and Jennifer LeComte, with responsibility in both departments.
How is communication between the two departments guaranteed?
Two of our fourth-year residents are selected as Med-Peds chief residents and helps facilitate communication between the two departments and coordinate our Med-Peds education. The chief residents have been a great addition. They receive an additional stipend and develop many skills during the year.
The Med-Peds faculty regularly meets with the program directors of the categorical programs to ensure integration.
Evaluations, procedures logs and duty hours are all electronically stored and easily accessible for each department.
Is there a medical-school affiliation, and how strong is that affiliation? Are there any medical students who rotate with the residents?
There is no medical school located in the state of Delaware. Christiana Care has a strong affiliation with Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa., with a class size of 250 students per year. Approximately 75 percent of Jefferson's students will rotate through A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children, and 25 percent will rotate through Christiana and Wilmington hospitals. We are Jefferson's largest medical affiliate, and the dean considers Christiana Care Delaware's medical school. Starting in 2011, a number of Jefferson students will spend their entire third and fourth year at Christiana Care. We are also an affiliate of the Philadelphia College of Medicine.
Jefferson Medical College sponsors our Meds-Peds program, and this illustrates the support of our academic program.
Each year, students who rotate here may submit and present abstracts and posters for award recognition. We value our resident contributions to our education.
Cutting-edge medical research, educating the next generation of physicians and other health care professionals and improved health care for the people of Delaware are among key elements of a unique, new partnership among Christiana Care and three of the region's other leading hospitals and educational institutions. Residents receive at least $800/year for research projects and other Christiana Care Health System grants are available.
The Delaware Health Sciences Alliance brings together the strengths of Christiana Care, Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Delaware and Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in a historic effort to partner on joint research projects in areas including cancer treatment and prevention, cardiovascular disease, rehabilitative medicine and allergy/immunology.
Do Med-Peds residents have a separate identity, and how well do they blend in with the categorical programs?
Our residents are able to maintain a unique identity while still enjoying all of the rights and responsibilities of the categorical residents. This identity is perpetuated by specific Med-Peds activities, such as working in the Med-Peds outpatient practice,and attending our monthly Med-Peds conferences and dinner meetings.
Our residents are included in all Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Department retreats, parties and other functions. Coverage is provided to guarantee participation in all of these events and retreats. Topics include Self Awareness, The World Around Us, Leading and Growing Beyond Residency, Patient Safety, End of Life, Patients with Terminal Care Issues, Teaching and Leadership, Preparing for the Responsibilities of Being Promoted to the Next Level, What Color is My Brain?, Teaching Med Students, Basics of Quality Improvement in Healthcare, Team Building and Self-Reflection.
Are there combined conferences?
There is a two-year Med-Peds ambulatory curriculum, and topics presented in multimedia format each week that integrate the adult and pediatric aspects of wellness and illness.
Each month, one of our residents hosts the Med-Peds conference, where we have a discussion about an ambulatory medicine topic and a business meeting. We also stress board-review type questions during these meetings.
Up to three times per year, we have a Med-Peds seminar that focuses on performance improvement, business of medicine or non-core Med-Peds topics. Recently we started a mini MBA and mini-MPH program for our residents to understand profit and loss statements, physician report cards, models of compensation, and population health etc.
What is the call schedule?
There is a six-day night float system for all the internal medicine and pediatric inpatient rotations. For internal medicine rotations, residents will sign out at 4 p.m. on most days, and when on short-call, they will sign out at 7 p.m. to the night float team. For pediatric inpatient services at A.I. du Pont Hospital for children, the residents report at 6:30 a.m. and sign out to the night float team at 5:30 p.m. There is also an internal night float system for the NICU, PICU, CCU, and the MICU.
Where do Med-Peds residents' salaries and benefits come from?
Salary and benefits are from Christiana Health Care System and are equivalent to the categorical internal medicine residents. Each Med-Peds resident has a yearly stipend of $1,550, which may be used for texts, educational materials or to attend a conference.
The residency program pays for memberships to the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, Medical Society of Delaware and National Med Peds Residency Association.
Pagers are provided to all interns.
A basic cell-phone package is reimbursed by the Department of Medicine to each resident.
Are Med-Peds residents asked to cover for categorical residents during parties or special events?
No. Med-Peds residents are invited to all important social events and meetings.
In general, we go to twice the parties and retreats.
Coverage is provided for these events.
Are there international rotations?
Yes. Med-Peds residents recently returned from Mexico, Peru, Guatemala and a medical Spanish program. Christiana Care Health System residents have recently done the following international rotations: Mexico (Community for Children); Cork, Ireland; Costa Rica (for medical Spanish); Gambia; Ghana; Himalayan health exchange (more than three internal-medicine residents and two emergency-medicine residents); Honduras-Cure International Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Brigade; and Peru.
Also, there is now a Global Health Program at Christiana Care, which is an innovative, multi-disciplinary educational program seeking to improve the public health knowledge base and skills of interested health professionals. There is a monthly lecture series that includes journal clubs, guest speakers and skills workshops, in addition to helping to prepare and coordinate international elective rotations for residents.
As a fourth-year student, can I take electives in either Medicine or Pediatrics?
Inpatient and outpatient rotations are available in all subspecialties. Please contact Paula Barnes at 302-733-6059 (Christiana Care) or Cindy Chuidian at 302-651-5874 (A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children).
There is a Med-Peds elective that allows medical students to rotate with four or five different Med-Peds practitioners in the area and the combined resident Med-Peds practice. For details, contact Debbie Harris at 302-733-2313.
Travel is required between our hospitals, all within 10 miles of each other.
Housing is available to students living outside 50 miles of the Christiana Care Health System campus.
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