Yale Pediatric Residency Program

The Yale Pediatric Residency Program is designed to combine intensive learning in patient care settings with supplemental, broad-based didactic experiences. Faculty, fellow and chief and senior resident guided learning at the bedside and in the ambulatory setting form our program's core learning opportunities. Electives and opportunities for concentration in areas such as research, global health, advocacy, quality improvement, leadership and medical education provide opportunities to explore individualized pathways for learning and we have 38 weeks of individualized curriculum spread over three years. Our program is carefully evaluated yearly and continuously improved with significant resident input to the review process.

Below are yearly summary schedules for each of our three years of training. We utilize a modified x + y schedule to allow for immersive outpatient and inpatient rotations. Please note that each resident receives 28 days of vacation spread over two 2-week periods; an additional major holiday (Thanksgiving, Jewish High Holidays, Christmas, or New Year’s) is given if a vacation does not fall on a holiday.

We also invite you to learn more informally about life as a Yale Pediatrics resident, please visit yalepedsresidency.org.

• 4 + 2 scheduling approach ​
• Healthy Lives Advocacy Approach ​
• Flexible tracks to structure scholarship (global health (link to global health), QI, medical education, advocacy, research) ​
• CAPS program ​
• Academic Half Days ​

• Inpatient Units (16 weeks) (including night float weeks)
• Pediatric intensive care unit (4 weeks)
• Neonatal intensive care unit (2 weeks)
• Emergency department (4 weeks)
• Outpatient general pediatrics (10 weeks)
• Advocacy* (2 weeks)
• Development and behavioral pediatrics* (4 weeks)
• Term Newborn* (2 weeks)
• Elective and Subspecialty Outpatient* (6 weeks)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

• Inpatient Units (12 weeks)
• Pediatric intensive care unit (4 weeks)
• Neonatal intensive care unit (6 weeks)
• Emergency department (4 weeks)
• Outpatient general pediatrics* (8 weeks)
• Mental and Behavior Health* (4 weeks)
• Individualized Curriculum* (10 weeks)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

• Inpatient Units (8-12 weeks)
• Pediatric intensive care unit (0-4 weeks)
• Emergency department (4 weeks)
• Outpatient general pediatrics/continuity clinic (4 weeks)
• Individualized Curriculum* (24 weeks)
• Advocacy* (2 weeks)
• Advanced Term Newborn* (2 weeks)
• Vacation (4 weeks)

In 2018, our program adopted a protected academic half day for resident learning in the inpatient setting after a successful launch of this teaching format in the outpatient setting in 2017. Residents now sign out the patients for whom they are providing and can focus on learning without interruption. Our protected half days, described below, also offer opportunities for resident reflection on what it means to be a pediatrician and support of resident wellbeing.

On Thursday afternoons, beginning with lunch, residents gather as seniors or interns on an every-other-week basis for dedicated, protected learning time. Our academic half-days include lectures by faculty experts, case-based discussions, hands-on procedural practice and the chance to discuss the joys and challenges of residency. The separation of interns from senior residents allows for learner level-specific teaching including dedicated support of seniors as team leaders.

While on outpatient blocks, residents also have one half day per week on Wednesdays, free from patient care duties in order to engage in dedicated didactic learning. Under the supervision and guidance of faculty preceptors, residents learn to assess and manage common problems in ambulatory care using the case-based Yale Primary Care Pediatrics Curriculum. Outpatient Academic Half Day also is home to our Medical Legal Partnership Project Series on Social Determinants of Health. These presentations, led by attorneys from our Medical-Legal Partnership Project, address legal issues affecting children's health. Outpatient Academic Half-Day is also home to a dedicated mental and behavioral health curriculum.

During lunch on the four days without an Academic Half Day, the chief residents and program leadership have designed a curricular framework to promote interaction and critical thinking. Residents will learn through a variety of experiences, including ethics conferences, case-based presentations, clinical reasoning exercises, global health topics, as well as rotating quality improvement and medical education sessions. The goal of our noon-time sessions is to engage residents with the many varied topics that will affect their long-term leadership trajectory in pediatrics.

All residents participate in regular simulations that are inter-professional (MD, RN, techs), and in-situ (in the clinical environment). Our trained, expert core simulation faculty work with SYNAPSE (our state-of the-art simulation center) to create a realistic and safe learning environment that focuses on both experiential and reflective learning. Debriefings involve reflecting on performance and discussions of teamwork, communication and clinical decision-making demonstrated during the case. Additionally targeted sessions are conducted with a focus on procedural skills training.

Our tracks are a supplemental enrichment opportunity meant to augment a resident’s learning and scholarship without dramatically altering their standard curricula. Residents can opt into 1-2 enrichment tracks and will receive distinction if they complete all track requirements by graduation. We have tracks in the following areas:

• Research
• Quality Improvement
• Medical Education
• Global Health
• Advocacy

Tracks are supported including financial support for projects. The CAPS program will offer $1,000 to offset the cost of travel for any resident presenting their scholarship in any track. This can be used more than once in training and is in addition to the GME educational fund. There are also small resident grants available for resident projects in any track, and you can receive up $3000 in funding including to offset costs for global health experiences.

Yale New Haven Children's Hospital is a major referral center for New England with advanced services in every subspecialty. We are proud to be ranked consistently in the US News and World Report "Best Children's Hospitals" in many subspecialties. We keep patients and families at the forefront, and decisions we make in the residency program are always driven by the question, "What is best for the children we serve?"​

All Yale Pediatric Residency training sites are committed to providing patient and family centered care. We also are proud to collaborate with the Center for Children’s Advocacy in a Medical-Legal Partnership designed to improve the health and welfare of low-income children and their families.