Fellowship
Clinical Training | Research Opportunities | How To Apply | Eligibility and Selection | Supervision Policy |
Current Fellows
- Win Boon, M.D.
Scott Schachinger, M.D.s - JoAnn Smith, M.B.B.S.
- Aaron Swenson, M.D.
- Rebecca Vartanian, M.D.
Mission and Overview
The Holden Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a part of the Maternal and Child Health Center and C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and is an integral component of the University of Michigan Medical Center. There are approximately 1,200 admissions annually to the 40-bed neonatal unit. Additionally, the physically adjacent Mother/Baby Unit delivers nearly 4,000 babies each year. About 75% of Holden admissions are inborn and 25% are transported from a referral region, with more than 150 babies coming from NICUs across the state. The latter include infants with special problems such as congenital heart disease, complex surgical problems or unusual anomalies, need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), high frequency ventilation, nitric oxide therapy, and whole body or selective head cooling for hypothermic neuroprotection.
The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program is designed to provide a solid background in clinical nenonatology and research techniques, allowing trainees the flexibility and opportunity to develop a career in academic medicine. The program fulfills the requirements of the American Board of Pediatrics, Sub-Board of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and is fully accredited.
The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Training Program is three years in duration. Over the course of training, fellows spend approximately one-third of their time in clinical service and two-thirds in research, teaching, qualitiy improvement, and administrative service. The clinical service includes rotations in Pediatric Surgery, the Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiovascular ICU, the High Risk Obstetrical (Perinatal) Program, and can also include self-designed clinical experiences. The program is under the direction of Robert E. Schumacher, M.D.
Clinical activities include care for infants in the NBICU where the fellow learns the skills necessary for running a busy NICU while receiving graded levels of supervision from attendings. Included are patient care and teaching conferences, neonatal transport, direct supervision of house officers and medical students, and consulting services. Significant involvement in the management of ECMO, high-frequency ventilation, hypothermia, and nitric oxide therapy, are integral parts of the clinical experience.
Special Clinical Service and Opportunities Include
B.R.A.I.N. Care
The Brain Research and Innovative Neurological Care for Newborns Program ((known as B.R.A.I.N. Care) provides state-of-the-art care for newborns with neurological problems. Multidisciplinary teams evaluate and treat a variety of neurological problems and conditions, including birth asphyxia, hemorrhage, stroke, brain malformations, seizures, hypotonia, infections, hydrocephalus, and neurologic impairments that require newborns to be ventilator dependent. Fellows become proficient in the use of cerebral fuction monitoring. A regular series of neonatal neurology conferences complements this experience.
ECMO
As the flagship ECMO center of the world, UMMC offers fellows the opportunity to take advantage of decades of clinical experience. Fellows may participate in the ECMO Specialist Training Course given regularly to participants from around the world.
The Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center
Close ties with the Departments of Obstetrics, Pediatric Surgery, and Pediatric Cardiology allow for a rich experience in fetal diagnostics and a fetal surgery program.
Family Centered Care
The Holden NICU strives to provide family centered care. Parents of former NICU patients are on staff to offer support and personal assistance to families through peer support, personal comfort, learning tools, and navigating the hospital environment. Fellows are standing members of the Family Centered Care Committee.
Fellows participate in ongoing education programs of the Department of Pediatrics. Neonatology journal club, M&M conference, and research seminars are held to foster a critical and scientific attitude and to review ongoing research. Participation in regional and national scientific meetings is encouraged and supported.
Fellows applying now will have the opportunity to experience a new state-of-the-art, single room NICU. Take a virtual tour of the new C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital scheduled to open in 2012.
Reseach Opportunities
Fellow involvement in scholarly activities is encouraged and fostered. Faculty members are involved in several different areas of both clinical and basic research. The Division participates in multicenter collaborative clinical trials including hypothermic neuorprotection and surfactant treatment. Special areas of interest include high-technology respiratory support, evidence-based medicine, hypoxic-ishemic brain injury, and chronic lung injury. Smaller competitively awarded grants are available to support research. The Division encourages the submission of abstracts resulting from work conducted during fellowship and will provide financial support for travel to a meeting for which an abstract is accepted.
The Amercian Board of Pediatrics requires all fellows to engage in projects in which they develop hypotheses or projects of substantive scholarly exploration and analysis that require critical thinking. Areas in which scholarly activity may be pursued include basic, clinical, or translational biomedicine; health services; quality improvement; bioethics; education; and public policy.
The University of Michigan is an enormous resource, which provides a wide range of opportunites for fellows. Following are examples of these opportunities.
All fellows take a 10-session Foundations of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Research Course sponsored by the Department of Pediatrics. The emphasis is on study design, understanding the types, strengths, and limitations of research approaches in a clinical setting; and on biostatistics, understanding basic statistical measures used in the analysis and interpretation of clinical research. Achieving foundational skills in clinical epidemiology will enable participants to identify, distill, critically appraise, and apply practical information from the medical literature relevant to their clinical subspecialty practice in pediatrics.
Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR)
This program provides engaging and effective multidisciplinary education and effective mentoring that has increased the number of high quality clinical and translational researchers across a broad career continuum. Past neonatal fellows have obtained the tools necessary for a career in academic medicine.
The School of Public Health offers the On Job/On Campus Master's Degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis Program. This program provides a means to develop expertise in research design and statistical analysis. Several fellows have received a degree through this program.
Fellows with an interest in basic science may take advantage of a wide variety of research labs across the medical center. The Program in Biomedical Sciences is a combined graduate program with links to many labs in the medical school. Neonatal fellows have worked in pathology, pulmononology, and medical genetics labs.
Courses are available for those who need to acquire the tools necessary for a successful bench career. The Cellular and Molecular Biology in Pediatrics Training Program is designed to prepare pediatricians for independent, research-oriented careers in academic medicine. Its specific goal is to provide new investigators with the powerful research tools of cellular and molecular biology that will allow them to explore in depth basic questions related to child health.
Fellows with an interest in medical education or health care administration may apply to the Graduate Medical Education Scholars Program. This innovative program consists of two tracks, a Medical Education Track and a Healthcare Administration Track, and provides participants with longitudinal training. The primary goal is to prepare graduates to assume and succeed in academic positions with a focus in either medical education or healthcare administration. The program allows participants to establish strong mentoring relationships in their chosen area of study, a network for future collaboration, and serves as a stepping stone to pursue further graduate study. Program participants will begin to develop the knowledge base and skill set required to be successful as the next generation of physician leaders. For additional details, please visit the web site.
The Division participates in the Vermont Oxford Quality Initiative Program and the Medical Center has active quality improvement programs (The Michigan Quality System) with educational opportunities available to interested parties. Recent presentations at national meetings attest to fellows’ success in this area.
Educational Opportunities
The table below outlines the typical conference / lecture schedule for the division. The Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases, the Medical Center and the University offer countless lectures, seminars, courses etc. The fellows are encouraged to take advantage of the tremendous scope of opportunities.
Weekly Conferences |
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Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
8:00am |
8:00am |
8:00 am |
8:00 am |
|
“Pericu”:
This is a joint OB- Neonatal conference where upcoming and recent “High Risk” deliveries are presented as well as the subsequent course of infants delivered from these pregnancies are discussed. In this working “case based” scenario both Obstetric and Neonatal House Staff interact with the goals of providing the best care to patients while learning when it matters. There is always active staff participation, and frequently House Officers will present short (5-10min) didactic mini lectures.
Fellow Clinical Case Conference
This is a monthly case-based conference where the previous on service fellow chooses an interesting case to present to the group.
Neonatal Research
This is the neonatal conference where core topics are presented. Topics can be assigned by the program director but are often self-selected by the fellows. His is also the venue for reviewing articles of interest and where QI issues may be presented. Quarterly a Perinatal Pathology conference also occurs in this venue.
H.O. Lecture
This conference / lecture is a shared responsibility of the on service fellow and attending. These lectures are delivered to the Pediatric House Staff who are currently rotating through the NICU. The fellow is responsible for planning the month’s curriculum which typically involves many talks from the fellow but also includes having to recruit other NICU personnel (respiratory therapy etc). This is one way that by the end of the third year a fellow can accumulate a personal “library” of talks / lectures.
Fetal Development / Teratology Clinic
This conference is a multidisciplinary working conference where specialists from Neonatology, Maternal Fetal Medicine, Pediatric Cardiology, Pediatric Surgery, and Genetics present, discuss and formulate care plans for the high risk.
Neonatal Pulmonary Conference
This is new in 2009. Every third Thursday the fellows meet with a faculty member to discuss topics related to the neonatal lung. Topics planned for 2009-2010 include: The Alveolar Gas Equation, Oxygen Therapy, Lung Volumes, Mechanical Properties of the Lungs, Neonatal Pulmonary Graphics, CPAP, Principles of Mechanical Ventilation, High Frequency Ventilation, Surfactant Replacement Therapy, Newer Modes of Mechanical Ventilation, Ventilator-Induced Lung Injury, Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.
Neonatal Neurology Conference
Is a conference held with the Divisions of Neonatal/ Neurology where lectures and discussion regarding topics of interest are presented by fellows and staff from both divisions.
XRAY rounds
are arranged as desired by the “on service” team and “on service “ radiologist.
Other Programs of Note
The Center for Human Growth and Development is a multidisciplinary unit including faculty from pediatrics, psychology, social work, education, public health, and more. The Center is subdivided into four research groups that focus on causes, prevention, and treatment of mental health problems, the impact of social disparities on child development, cognitive development across cultures, and brain-behavior relationships in the developing child. Many of the research projects have international connections. One fellow recently participated in this program and successfully established a research site in Ghana.
University of Michigan Medical School Global REACH (Research, Education and Collaboration in Health)
Global REACH's mission is to facilitate health research, education, and collaboration among University of Michigan Medical School faculty and students and our global partners to benefit patients worldwide.
Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit
One major research component of General Pediatrics is devoted to Pediatric Health Services Research. Fellows and faculty from other subspecialty divisions with strong interests in health services research participate.
Neuroscience Graduate Program
This program captures the excitement and interaction intrinsic to the field of neuroscience. Learners are attracted to the neuroscience graduate program by the breadth of the intellectual base, the variety of scientific approaches to studying the brain and nervous system, the richness in the choice of research topics, and the multiple levels of discourse ranging from the molecular to the cognitive.
Center for Organogenesis
This is a multidisciplinary pre- and post-doctoral program that focuses on developmental biology. It consists of an intercollegiate and interdisciplinary group of scientists whose work is directed toward a common goal: to understand the basic mechanisms by which organs and tissues are formed and maintained, and to use this knowledge to create long lasting artificial organs, stem cell therapies, or organ transplantation systems that will correct genetic and acquired diseases.
Other Informational Links
- University of Michigan Health System (UMHS)
- University of Michigan Medical School
- University of Michigan Pediatric Residency
- Graduate Medical Education
- ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education)
- House Officer Association
- NIH Loan Repayment Program
This program is relevant for US-trained fellows considering a career in research.
We are proud of our program. Graduating fellows have gone on to successful careers in clinical neonatology as well as academic careers at universities across the country. We hope you will consider us when making your fellowship (and career) choice.
How To Apply
Thank you for your interest in the University of Michigan’s Pediatric Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program. Applications are accepted through ERAS.
Applications for the 2011 academic year will be accepted through ERAS beginning November 15, 2009.
To be considered by the fellowship selection committee, applicants must meet our eligibility criteria and submit the required documents:
Applicants must submit the following required documents
- 2 letters of recommendation from members of your faculty
- 1 letter of recommendation from your program director
- Completed applicant evaluation form to be completed by your references
- Personal statement
- USMLE transcripts- Step I, Step II, and Step III scores
- Photograph
- CV
- ECFMG Transcripts if applicable
- In-training examination scores
We do not offer observerships, sponsor any visas,or accept H visas. To be considered for selection, eligible candidates must be a US citizen or have permanent resident status (green card) because of our funding sources.
Eligibility and Selection
Applicants are eligible following completion of an accredited three-year residency training program in general pediatrics in The United States, Canada, or a foreign medical school that is listed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Applicants must have a current valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in the US or Canada. Applicants without citizenship in the US must be on an ECFMG or J-1 Visa. Interviews will be offered to select applicants after review of their application and supporting documents in ERAS.
Supervision Policy
Pediatric Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine complies with The University of Michigan Graduate Medical Education supervision policy. To view the policy, please click here.
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