Rotation Descriptions
Here are the rotations in which residents within UND's Pediatric Residency Program
can expect to participate:
Pediatric Inpatient Unit
Our inpatient census is divided into teams that care for our general pediatric admissions under the supervision of pediatric hospitalists. The pediatric hospitalist teams co-manage pediatric surgery, pediatric orthopedic, and pediatric neurosurgical patients and consult on pediatric trauma patients and for other surgical specialties (like ENT and Plastics). This will be a supervisory rotation during both your PGY-2 and PGY-3 years.
Night Float
Residents will cover the pediatric hospitalist team on night float for admissions and overnight management of patients with a pediatric hospitalist. During PGY-3, residents will supervise a pediatric intern on night float. After completing their Heme-Onc rotation, upper-level residents will also be eligible to admit patients to that service on night float.
NICU
During your PGY-2 year, you will work directly with a Sanford Health neonatologist in the 40+ bed, Level III NICU at Sanford Children’s Hospital Fargo. You will have 1:1 teaching experiences in this setting, which will make you well prepared for your PGY-3 NICU experience. Teams consist of neonatologists, residents, and neonatal nurse practitioners. The experience includes attendance at deliveries, neonatal resuscitation, acute and chronic neonatal issues, and performance of procedures. During your PGY-3 rotation you will be supervising the PGY-2s.
PICU
As PGY-2 and PGY-3, you will rotate through our 8-bed intensive care unit (that can flex up to 16 beds) at the Sanford Children’s Hospital Fargo. You will be exposed to a variety of critical ill medical and surgical pediatric patients, including those with congenital heart disease, acute respiratory distress, toxic ingestions, encephalitis, and surgical and trauma patients. You will work directly with our in-house, 24/7 PICU staff, managing critically ill patients and gaining experience performing a variety of procedures.
Normal Newborn Nursery
This experience takes place at Sanford Children’s Hospital Fargo where around 3,000 deliveries occur annually. You will work in the nursery with a pediatric hospitalist and become competent in the newborn exam, common newborn issues, and in delivery room resuscitation skills. Your experience in delivery room resuscitation skills is under the supervision of our Neonatology and Hospitalist staff.
Adolescent Medicine
The adolescent medicine rotation is a required one-month outpatient experience in two half-month blocks. The first half will be spent at the University of Minnesota and Hennepin Healthcare under the supervision of the Adolescent Medicine faculty in the Twin Cities during PGY-2. There is extensive exposure to the care of LGBTQ+ youth, patients with complex eating disorders, the medically underserved, menstrual irregularities, sexually transmitted diseases, and substance abuse. The second half of the block will be spent in Fargo in a longitudinal adolescent psychiatry clinic. Residents will see patients in a half-day, every-other-week clinic throughout the third year with a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Residents will gain skills in longitudinal management of common behavioral health conditions.
Community Pediatrics and Child Health Advocacy
The community medicine rotation is a required outpatient rotation that introduces residents to the collaboration needed between pediatricians and community-based organizations to optimize the care we give to our patients. The rotation also gives residents exposure to public health policy and child health advocacy. Residents will care for patients in a community setting within a mature medical home practice and work within an integrated practice with other disciplines such as social work, RTs, nurses, and integrated behavioral health clinicians. Residents will also gain experience with community outreach and resources important for the care of children that include WIC, daycares, lactation clinics, public health department, and child safety professionals. In addition, over the two rotations residents will complete a public health/child advocacy project with a faculty mentor. The resident will use the Community Pediatrics Training Initiative Project (CPTI) Planning Tool from the AAP as a resource.
Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics
On this rotation, the PGY-1 resident will gain experience in the evaluation of children with developmental and behavioral concerns under the supervision of a Developmental Pediatrician. Residents will care for patients in an outpatient setting seeing consultations, follow-up visits, and participate in interdisciplinary team evaluations.
Emergency Medicine and Acute Care/Illness
Each year, the resident’s experience in managing acute illness and emergency medicine will vary as each resident spends time in different settings. PGY-1 interns will work for one month in an ambulatory acute care clinic. PGY-2 residents will spend one month in the Pediatric Emergency Department located at Children’s in Minneapolis. While PGY-3 residents will spend one month in the Emergency Department at Sanford Medical Center Fargo. Residents have increasing responsibility providing pediatric emergency care under the supervision of the Emergency Medicine staff.
Infectious Disease
During your PGY-1 year you will rotate in the Infectious Disease Department as one of your required specialty rotations. Residents will care for patients in the clinic setting and across all areas of the Children’s Hospital, including those admitted to the pediatric hospitalist service, PICU, NICU, and normal newborns.
Rheumatology/Gastroenterology
This combination is one of the required subspecialty selectives. During your PG-1 year you will do a two-week rotation in Rheumatology and a two-week rotation in Gastroenterology. Residents will gain experience primarily in the specialty clinics, but also in the Children’s Hospital.
Endocrinology/Diabetes Management
PGY-1 residents will complete a required rotation on the Endocrine/Diabetes service and gain critical assessment and management skills for children with diabetes and other endocrine conditions in clinic and across the inpatient units of the Children’s Hospital.
Cardiology
PGY-2 residents will have a required block of Cardiology and will encounter patients primarily in clinic, but also in the Children’s Hospital. Additionally, residents will gain knowledge regarding stress testing and ECHO (including fetal studies).
Hematology/Oncology
This block is another required subspecialty month and will be split between the clinic and the Children’s Hospital. In the hospital, residents will admit and care for patients admitted to the Peds/Heme/Onc service and see consultations under the supervision of the attending Peds/Heme/Onc attending. In addition, the resident will see patients in the clinic and attend the monthly Peds Tumor Board while on service.