Learn what makes our program an unique place to train!
- We believe that advocating for children’s health is fundamental part of being a pediatrician and there are numerous opportunities to engage in advocacy work at the community, state, and national level.
- Residents have the opportunity to be part of the REACH pathways and explore community-based child health in rural Washington or Kisii, Kenya.
- The wellbeing of our residents is paramount to our program.
- Resident have lots of opportunities to engage in research throughout residency.
- Resident input is critical to improving our program and residents are directly involved in making changes.
- Each resident is supported through multiple layers of mentorship in our program.
- After graduation, residents are prepared for any career!
Advocacy
At Seattle Children’s, we believe that advocating for children’s health is one of the foundational cornerstones to building a productive pediatric career. In addition to the advocacy curriculum which all residents participate in, residents started the Advocacy Council in 2021 which is open to all residents and meets quarterly to discuss advocacy events and projects.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Every year residents work closely with the Washington Chapter of the AAP to advocate for policy to support children in the state legislature. Residents have written op-eds, testified at the annual Advocacy Day, and have spoken directly with legislators to share their stories and support bills for child health, three of the four bills that residents testified for were signed into law.
Advocacy Curriculum
As pediatricians, our job is to advocate for child health inside and outside the hospital. But how can we do this on a resident schedule? What skills do we actually need to effectively advocate for our patients?
The advocacy curriculum teaches residents tangible skills that can be used in residency and beyond to advocate for the health of children. This curriculum covers topics about how to effectively advocate for the individual patient as well as the community at the local, state, and federal levels.
Resident Advocacy Projects
Residents are involved in tons of different advocacy projects that are resident-led, including starting the Washington Pediatricians for Climate Action group comprised of 40 pediatricians across the state, and receiving an AAP Catch Grant this year to support parents of young children in Toppenish, WA.
REACH Pathways
REACH – Kisii
The REACH–Kisii Pathway is an opportunity for those residents interested in global health to achieve more training in public health, community advocacy and global partnership. In the R3 year REACH–Kisii Pathway residents participate in an 8-week experiential learning program in Kenya. Residents are exposed to pediatric health services through clinical experience at a 40-bed pediatric ward of a provincial hospital in rural Kisii, Kenya. The bulk of their time, however, is spent conducting community-based child health assessments and interventions working with the Kisii public health network that is headquartered at Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital. The specific focus of these activities changes over time based on local priorities, but residents are encouraged to develop and meet individual learning goals while enjoying exposure to role models and career options in global health.
Our REACH–Kisii program is unique in that our residents are paired with pediatric residents from the University of Nairobi for their time in Kisii. The pairs live and work together for the entire experience. The goal is to look upstream at the determinants of child health in Kenyan communities. This pairing allows for support and sharing of expertise between residents and promotes a more in-depth understanding of Kenyan culture and medical training. With each resident pairing, the program makes further inroads into building a sustainable partnership with the larger Kisii community.
REACH – Toppenish
In the R3 year, each REACH–Toppenish resident spends 8 weeks in Toppenish, Washington, to learn from and about the community and its health and healthcare needs. Residents’ time is spent working with community organizations serving the children and youth of the Lower Yakima Valley. Residents partner with local community members and the Community Advisory Board to design relevant and impactful projects. Each resident’s activities evolve in response to community needs and residents’ unique learning goals and strengths. Residents are encouraged to explore experiences that expose them to role models and career options in community pediatrics and advocacy.
Some projects have included:
- Understanding child health from the parent’s perspective through surveys and focus groups and applying social network analysis to community needs
- Conducting a needs assessment on access to adolescent services and adolescent medical home
- Developing after school programs and mentorship for local youth
- Supporting expectant parents with group support and resources through “baby showers”
- Expanding hands-on training opportunities for local youth interested in healthcare careers
- Leading high school students in developing educational videos for peers
- Partnering with high school teachers and staff to develop and teach health curricula, and “Ask the Doc’ sessions in classrooms.
REACH – Seattle
The REACH pathway is grounded in principles of parity and sustainability, and as such, we offer the REACH–Seattle experience for residents from the University of Nairobi. Pediatric residents from the University of Nairobi spend five weeks in Seattle. The REACH–Seattle Pathway is an opportunity for University of Nairobi residents interested in global health to achieve more training in public health, clinical service and research. The goal is to understand and influence determinants of child health and health disparities at the community level. REACH–Seattle participants join REACH–Kisii and REACH–Toppenish residents during their R2 year to participate in their month-long curriculum, described above.
Our REACH (Resident Education and Advocacy for Child Health) Pathways (including REACH-Toppenish, REACH-Kisii and REACH-Seattle) train residents to look beyond the walls of the clinic and hospital to understand child health in a community context. Residents in REACH explore fundamental questions related to child health. For example: how do families, schools, neighborhoods and communities shape child health for better or for worse? And, most importantly, what can physicians do to improve the health of children by working outside the clinic walls?
This approach to understanding health and well-being at a community level is part of a paradigm shift in the medical profession. Working closely with local partners, we hope to benefit the communities by bringing our time, talents, and energy to bear on local issues.
Residents apply to the REACH Pathways during their first year of residency. Approximately eight residents total are selected each year between the Kisii and Toppenish pathways. The curriculum consists of 4 months throughout residency dedicated to REACH. During second year, residents spend two months learning about community health and developing their advocacy skills, through hearing from community partners and working on group projects. As third year residents, they travel to their REACH site for 2 months and work on a project directly with the community.
Resident Wellness
Resident Wellness Committee
A group of residents, executive residents, and faculty members work together to lead wellness initiatives tailored to the residency program each year. This includes championing resident appreciation activities, recharge events, evening activities, and group service opportunities.
Intern Support Group
Every Thursday, interns have dedicated time during noon hour to come together as a group to debrief and support one another. Seniors hold the interns’ pagers and phones, so interns have uninterrupted time to chat and connect.
UW GME Wellness Service
The UW GME Wellness Service helps trainees and their significant others/spouses cope with common stressors of training. They have counselors on staff who meet with residents regularly, free of charge. They are conveniently located at the UW hospital and have evening hours to facilitate resident schedules.
Traditions
Our program has lots of traditions to bring residents together to celebrate.
- Fun Fridays: On Fridays, the wards teams each pick a theme and dress up. Costumes have included anything from characters from Inside Out to dressing up as the women’s US national soccer team.
- Burgers (& Brunch) on the Execs: Quarterly, the executive residents take residents out for burgers (or brunch for those who are post call). It’s a time to relax and hang out with one another outside of work.
- Winter Party: The residency hosts an annual talent show. Residents dance, sing, and perform stand-up comedy. All residents have coverage in the hospital so that they can attend.
- Pinnacle Peak: As part of intern orientation, a few faculty members take the intern class on a hike near Mt Rainer, which is a great way for the class to bond and get to know one another.
- End- of- Year Banquet: There is a yearly celebration for R3s who are graduating from the program, and all residents’ shifts are covered so that they can attend.
Annual Retreats
- Intern Retreat: A residency favorite is intern retreat. We are one of the only programs in the country where interns get to spend 5 days away from clinical duties to connect with their co-residents in the fall of intern year. Interns get the opportunity to work on leadership skills and discuss their first few months as residents. The retreat culminates in a sleepover at a summer camp where the residents cook dinner together.
- Intern Transition Seminar: At the end of intern year, residents have a daylong retreat to learn about teaching and management skills before becoming seniors.
- There are additional retreats as R2s and R3s, where residents have the opportunity to discuss career goals and hear from various pediatricians, ranging from outpatient pediatricians to specialists.
Stamm Camp
Each August, Seattle Children’s Stanley Stamm Summer Camp gives nearly 100 children with chronic medical conditions the chance to go fishing, ride horses, and take part in other typical summer camp activities at a week-long sleepover camp near Mt. Rainier. The camp, founded by Seattle Children’s heart specialist Dr. Stanley Stamm, includes a team of both medical and non-medical volunteers from the community and a fully equipped infirmary so that children who are unable to attend other camps due to unique and often complex medical needs can join in the fun.
Residents serve as camp counselors and are instantly involved in all of the camp activities, including medical care. From taking campers to archery, fishing, horseback riding, lake swimming, and the annual camp bonfire, residents have just as much fun as anyone else.
A big part of my wellness is being able to spend time with my loved ones, and that includes my husband who is also a resident (in a different specialty). I was worried coming into residency that it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to line up days off and vacations, but that has not been the case. I have felt so supported by my program as they have worked to give my husband and I the same vacations for 3 years straight now. We are also given the opportunity to request certain days off ahead of time which has allowed us to line up weekends off together many times.
Research
In addition to the more formal Research Track, many residents are involved in projects throughout their three years, ranging from QI initiatives at their clinic to bench-based research. Residents are easily able to find mentors whose interests align with theirs, and many projects lead to published work or presentations at national meetings. Residents also have the opportunity to complete a research elective.
See a full list of recently published works by residents here.
Resident Case Presentations (RCPs)
Each resident is responsible for presenting a project to the faculty and fellow residents as an R3. Residents receive close mentorship on their project and can choose any topic of interest. As seen below, presentations have ranged from talks on social determinants of health, to basic science research, to quality improvement initiatives.
Research at Seattle Children’s
Liz Nguyen, MD, PhD, and Danny Miller, MD, PhD take you inside Seattle Children’s Research Institute and share their experiences with research at Seattle Children’s and University of Washington.
During residency, I have found an enthusiastic environment in which to explore new avenues for research as well as continue developing my previous research interests. Despite the demands of residency, I have found many mentors willing to go out of their way to not only involve me in research, but also support me in leading new research projects. Thanks to this, I have been able to present my work at a variety of conferences and expand my network of collaborators. This has ultimately allowed me to continue contributing to scientific and medical knowledge to pave the way for a career as a physician-scientist.
Resident Input
Our program leadership does an incredible job incorporating resident feedback directly into program changes. We have monthly pediatric Residency meetings to hear updates from the executive residents and solicit resident feedback. These led to direct changes in the program, including piloting academic half-days, scheduling changes, and implementing patient volume caps just to name a few. Program leadership also supports residents who want to design a new residency-wide curriculum or a resident interest group.
Resident Education Committee
The Residency Education Committee (Res Comm) is a group of residents and GME faculty who work together to find ways to improve our residency training. Representatives are nominated by their peers to participate in monthly committee meetings, and serve as the voice of their class to optimize educational opportunities and experiences for the residents. Residents work with GME leadership to improve the resident experience within the larger context of the hospital system. ResComm is one of the many examples of how the program leadership takes resident feedback into account.
Other Resident Groups
Seattle Children’s Residents have lots of interests, within medicine and beyond. Below is a list of the some the additional and clubs run by residents:
- Cardiology Interest Group: The Bundle Branch Buddies – Resource for pediatric cardiology focused mentorship, education, research, and networking
- Club Journal – Monthly Journal Club run by residents.
- Family-Resident Partnership – Collaboration between residents and SCH guardians to discuss family experience in the hospital and how residents can best meet their needs.
- Humanism In Pediatrics – Group that organizes events for residents that focus on the humanistic aspects of medicine and the human impact of being a medical provider/trainee.
- Inklings – Group of residents who support each other with writing about their experiences in medicine.
- Peds Pride – LGBTQIA+ affinity group comprised of LGBTQIA+ identified trainees & faculty focused on community building, advocacy, education, and recruitment. Allies also welcome.
- Primary Care Interest Group – Provides mentoring and support for residents interested in primary care.
- RN-Resident Partnership – Collaboration between residents and nurses to build community between the two professional groups, and address challenges that arise in the hospital.
Mentorship
We have multiple layers of mentorship at Seattle Children’s, ranging from coaches to advisors.
Pods: The residency is split into five pods, with whaley cool names: Humpback, Orca, Narwhal, Beluga, and Minke. Within each pod, residents are split into smaller groups (usually ~6 residents) and assigned a Coach. Coaches meet with residents throughout the year to review resident progress and goals and provide feedback through direct observations of residents’ clinical work. Coaches have also been known to invite residents over for homemade meals and leave Starbucks gift cards in resident mailboxes!
Continuity Clinic Preceptors: Residents work with the same Continuity Clinic Preceptor throughout the three years at their clinic site. These preceptors provide feedback on resident clinical skills through direct observation and support resident growth in the primary care setting and beyond.
Advisors: Each resident is assigned a specific advisor as an intern based on their interests/career goals. This mentorship role is based on residents’ needs and can be anything from finding residents a research project, to helping residents apply to fellowship, to showing residents hiking trails.
Attendings: The attendings at SCH are incredibly supportive and are more than willing to involve residents in projects or talk to residents about career options.
Life After Residency
Our program prepares residents for whatever career path they choose. After graduating from Seattle Childrens, about 60% of residents go into general pediatrics, including outpatient primary care, hospitalist, and urgent care. The remaining 40% choose to pursue fellowship and match at top programs in the country.
Read more about the fellowship programs offered at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Hear from SCH alumni about what they are doing now and how their experiences at Seattle Children’s prepared them for any career!
Click here to see our fellowship match list.