Did you graduate from medical school (congrats!) and you’re figuring out what’s next? For those who want to go on to practice clinical medicine, the next step is to complete residency in a specialty area, something like pediatrics, internal medicine, or neurology. Here, learn what pediatric residency at Yale is all about and why we’d love to have you as part of our program.
What is pediatric residency?
Pediatric residency is a three-year training program dedicated to growing your skill set in general pediatrics, preparing you to provide care to children of all ages in a variety of settings. Some residents choose to go into practice in the outpatient setting right after training, and some residents choose to pursue additional training in a specialty area of pediatrics. Residency will prepare you well for both paths.
Why choose pediatric residency?
Being a physician for children is truly unique, and you will learn a tremendous amount about physiology from caring for children from birth through adolescence. Pediatrics also offers an incredible opportunity to promote preventative health and affect the wellbeing of populations over their entire lifespan. Whether through vaccines, improved treatments for diseases like type I diabetes or sickle cell anemia, or simply being a trusted adult in a child’s life, pediatricians can really make an impact felt well beyond their immediate care. Being a pediatrician is also incredibly fun and rewarding. You will find a community of colleagues who value the art of medicine, as well as science, and you will interact with patients who embody resilience and the innate capacity for joy.
What are the best pediatric training programs?
This really depends on what you are hoping to achieve in your final career. If you want to be a leading scientist in a niche disease process, you should pursue training at a large academic center with a dedicated children’s hospital. If you want high volume training in “bread and butter” disease presentations as well as specialty care, you will want a center that is a community hospital as well as a referral center, such as our own program here at Yale. Or if you know you want to be a primary care pediatrician, you should look at a program that focuses on teaching you those community pediatrics skills. Rankings are largely meaningless in the ultimate career for pediatricians, what matters is finding the best program for an individual student.
What is the pediatric residency experience like at Yale?
Residency at Yale Pediatrics seeks to prepare residents for the next step in any number of careers. We have residents who go on to be fabulous community doctors in many different cities, we have residents who go on to pursue incredibly successful physician-scientist careers, and any number of career paths in between these two ends of a career spectrum. We believe that rigor and joy can co-exist and want our residents to finish training, ready to provide outstanding care to children, while also feeling fulfilled.
Training at Yale means you will be in a program that equally values high acuity settings as well as community pediatrics, and you’ll have the special opportunity to be a primary care doctor to families in New Haven during your time here. You will be able to explore the many other parts of fulfilling academic careers including medical education, quality improvement and leadership, research, global health and so much more.
Is pediatric residency harder than other residency programs?
Like any specialty, pediatric residency has some aspects that are very hard. Taking care of critically ill children poses different emotional challenges, and the variability of childhood illness during certain times of year when viruses are more abundant leads to very busy winter days. However, pediatrics has always valued balance, and we certainly build in time for residents to take care of themselves.
How long does it take to become a pediatrician?
After undergraduate, future pediatricians must complete medical school (4 years), pediatric residency (3 years) and some go on to fellowships in a subspecialty (2-4 years).
What additional programs does Yale offer?
Numerous opportunities are available for potential residents at Yale. In Pediatrics, we have the External Resident Scholarship, an initiative to enhance healthcare diversity in pediatric fellowship programs, in addition to things like our global health track, the opportunity to work with our Yale Pediatric Refugee Clinic, and a Quality Improvement Curriculum, among other things. Check out all our tracks and other opportunities here.
Is pediatrics worth it?
In a word – yes. It is a demanding path but being a trusted part of a child’s life and helping them recover from illness is truly magical.
The Department of Pediatrics at Yale is a world leader in child health and wellbeing, striving together to heal, innovate, and collaborate. To learn more, visit the Department of Pediatrics website.