pediatric residency program

Thank you for your interest in our outstanding pediatric residency training program here at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine (WSUBSOM). Our program’s home is Dayton Children’s Hospital. We recognize the important decision you have ahead of you in choosing where to train for pediatrics. Welcome and know that you have chosen an exceptionally fulfilling field. 

Wright State Pediatrics has some unique strengths. It is a moderate size program — big enough to interact with a wide variety of faculty and peers, yet small enough to easily develop a great support system of mentors and friends. With a faculty of more than 50 academic general pediatricians and greater than 135 pediatric subspecialists, we are able to focus attention on the 48 pediatric residents we train.  

Dayton Children’s Hospital is a great place to work. It provides, along with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center, a broad and rich experience in pediatrics. We put quite a lot of effort into the details of our program: the competency-based curricula, the evaluation of residents in new and innovative ways, the emphasis on self-reflective learning and the outcomes measures we use to modify our program, to name a few. With a learner-centered approach that fosters the development of each individual resident, we aim to nurture the practice of life-long learning in our residents. We are very proud of our residents and the training program they comprise!

The faculty are committed to your education. An active academic advising system ensures career progression. Mentors help solidify and support the future plans of our residents. Based on outcome and survey data, the training you receive here well prepares you for a career in general pediatrics. Likewise, if you plan on becoming a pediatric subspecialist, you will receive wonderful general pediatric training that will allow you to excel as a fellow. About 20 percent of our graduates each year choose to do a subspecialty fellowship. We have sent our graduates to outstanding fellowships such as University of North Carolina (Endocrinology), Baylor (Pediatric Critical Care), Riley Children’s/Indiana University (Neonatology) and Washington University (Cardiology). Our board passage rate is above the national average. We are recognized nationally for being a strong place to train in general pediatrics. 

Most importantly, we are proud of the people here. The atmosphere at Wright State is comfortable, warm, inviting and facilitative. We will help you to develop into a proficient resident and board-certified pediatrician. We will support you through hard times and share your joy in your successes. We believe in a balance between your professional and personal life – an overarching guiding principle in our residency is the wellbeing and flourishing of our residents. 

Overall, Wright State is a quality experience in pediatrics training. Resident-friendly and geared towards the learner, we consistently try to evolve and grow the strengths we have. We are here to help in your search for the “right-fit” training program. We hope to meet with you and talk further about our exciting training program here at Wright State University and Dayton Children’s Hospital.

Ann Burke, MD, MBA

Pediatric Residency Program Director

Thank you for choosing pediatrics, and welcome to Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine Pediatric Residency program at Dayton Children’s Hospital! It is truly an honor and privilege to be given the opportunity to serve the children in our community. By joining us at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center, and Dayton Children’s Hospital, you will work in dynamic, state of the art settings with dedicated faculty in all pediatric specialties and primary care setting who will support you in your preparation for a career in general pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty. The mission of Dayton Children’s is the relentless pursuit of optimal health for every child within our reach, and it is indeed a blessing to be part of a community that has committed to assuring that the children in our region have access to a world class free-standing, independent children’s hospital close to home. Our affiliation with Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine adds to your opportunities for academic success, and professional growth.

Dayton is also a great place to live, with short commutes, a vibrant and growing downtown, an amazing park system, and more bike trails than anywhere in the country. There are very few cities of our size that can boast to having great craft breweries, an outstanding arts scene, and an internationally recognized contemporary dance company. We are a resilient community that is coming together to address the major health and social issues of our time, and look forward to preparing the next generation of pediatricians to meet the challenges and opportunities that the future will bring.

Be a part of our efforts in the relentless pursuit of optimal health for every child within our reach!

Shehzad A Saeed, MD, FAAP, AGAF, NASPGHAN-F

Professor and Chair, Department of Pediatrics 

Each resident participates in at least 18 full-day continuity clinics per academic year. The full-day continuity clinic, rather than the traditional half-day, provides an improved focus on patient continuity and clinic-based learning. This provides a special experience for the resident to observe the physical, emotional and intellectual development of a child over an extended period. Our residents are the primary care physicians for both healthy children as well as those with chronic and acute illnesses. The civilian residents’ continuity clinic takes place at the Connor Child Health Pavillion. Military residents’ continuity clinic takes place at the pediatric clinic at Wright-Patterson Medical Center.

Senior residents have the flexibility to create their own electives to meet the needs of their specific learning and career goals. Residents can use this time for research projects, medical education, rotations in private practices and additional subspecialty electives.

A brand-new curriculum focusing on building knowledge, skills, and comfort in areas such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, normal development challenges, behavioral problems and substance use disorders.

Residents routinely engage in a variety of research and scholarly projects throughout their training including topics in clinical and translational research, medical education, and quality improvement. While completion of a research project is not required, we encourage our residents to collaborate with faculty in original or ongoing projects, especially during elective rotations. Resident scholarly endeavors result in opportunities to present findings at national and regional meetings as well as publication in peer-reviewed journals.

Our program’s desire to facilitate our residents’ scholarly work is exemplified by our yearly Fall Scholarship Day and the Megan Wenker Spring Research Symposium. During Fall Scholarship Day, the state of ongoing scholarly activity by residents and faculty is shared with medical students, residents and fellows. During the Megan Wenker Spring Research Symposium, medical students, residents, and fellows present their completed or ongoing work via poster sessions and platform presentations.

Our educational didactic curriculum is centered around an academic half-day which promotes dedicated, protected learning focused on pediatric board content specifications. Our program has an 18-month rotating curriculum, which allows for a consistent and organized learning pattern. In addition to traditional lectures provided by pediatric generalists and sub-specialists, our program has also incorporated longitudinal and interactive educational opportunities detailed below.

• Acute care symposium – During the first two months of each academic year the academic half-day consists of lectures that introduce the residents to the acute management of issues that they run into during residency and beyond.
• Resident quality improvement curriculum (RQIC) – Throughout the first year, residents attend 10 sessions dedicated to introducing key concepts in Quality Improvement Science. During second and third year, residents have the opportunity to join or lead quality improvement initiatives throughout the hospital. 
• Developmental/mental health case series – A longitudinal curriculum to provide residents with the resources and education needed to identify and manage common behavioral and mental health issues in the general pediatric setting.
• NICU bootcamp – Twice a year residents participate in interactive, hands-on conferences on high yield neonatology topics and procedures. Residents rotate through multiple small group sessions led by neonatologists and subspecialists.
• Jeopardy board review – PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents participate in a monthly, 1-hour Jeopardy-style board review session with their class. A resident favorite, this series encourages comradery and education on high-yield board topics.
• Chief-lead longitudinal board review consisting of high-yield topics, often in the form of games.

Our morning report is an informal and interactive 30-minute case-based presentation led by a senior resident or chief resident. It is held at Dayton Children’s every morning except the day of our academic half-day. Attended by inpatient senior residents, residents on electives, medical students, hospitalists, and subspecialists, it is an opportunity for growth of medical knowledge, differential diagnosis building, and critical decision making.

Noon conference is a 1-hour lecture that is held during a provided lunch twice a week. Topics include AAP policy review, resident case conferences, resident morbidity and mortality conferences, mock codes, financial lectures, subspeciality lectures, etc.

A 1-hour morning conference is held every day (except the day of academic half-day) for residents rotating on their ambulatory, newborn nursery, and adolescent blocks at WPMC. Lectures are given by various specialists on base such as child psychiatry, developmental pediatrics, orthopedics, adolescent medicine, ENT, dentistry, chief resident, etc. In addition, residents regularly practice their hands-on skills at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center Simulation Center and in monthly IV and suture labs.

Residents in the continuity clinic participate in a 30-minute lecture on a general pediatric topic. The structured curriculum covers a different topic every week throughout the year.

In May and June of every year, the third-year residents participate in eight half days of dedicated board review given by various generalists and subspecialists. This is protected time and residents are excused from clinic duties during this time.

Every summer, our second and third year residents are given the opportunity to spend a week at Camp Ko-Man-She where children ages 8 to 17 living with Type 1 diabetes get a chance to enjoy a fun outdoor experience with other children like themselves in a safe, medically supervised setting. 

Our residents provide the campers with 24-hour health coverage by monitoring glucose, providing subcutaneous insulin injections, managing insulin pumps, and optimizing diabetes regimens (usually required with the increasing levels of activity throughout the week.) 

Being at camp isn’t all work! Residents participate along with the campers in various activities including hiking, swimming, archery, horseback riding, arts & crafts, and the low rope course. The residents always love competing in the camp-wide talent show and dancing at the end-of-camp party! It’s a great opportunity to meet some great kids, spend a week outdoors, and learn about diabetes management.   

• Grand rounds
• Monthly journal clubs, held on and off campus
• Monthly mock codes
• Courses for PALS, BLS, NRP
• Pediatric fundamental critical care support (PFCCS) – a two-day course that is funded by the program for every resident
• Yearly American Board of Pediatrics In-Training Exam to provide residents with a yearly measurement of their progress and information to help them tailor their educational experiences