Academic Half-Day (i.e. "Thursday School")
Every residency program provides structured educational content in the way they feel best educates their trainees. At the Tulane Pediatric Residency Program, we feel strongly that resident-focused education should be consistent, collaborative, and relevant. We know that adults learn most effectively when their education is problem-centered and interactive. The largest portion of our didactic component is our Academic Half-Day (commonly referred to by our residents as "Thursday School"). During this half-day, all PGY levels come together to learn and to teach! Using a combination of sessions, we aim to keep the didactic experience dynamic and focused not only on board-relevant material but what you really need to know to be a pediatrician! Through everything from faculty-led sessions to resident-led presentations, traditional lectures to games and sim labs - we work to keep this primary didactic session lively and varied.
Continuity Clinic Curriculum
At the beginning of each Continuity Clinic session, we host a resident-led, faculty-guided, primary care-focused session. This curriculum is designed to review key areas vital to the preventative care of children. By including these sessions right before each continuity clinic half-day, it allows our residents to immediately turn their new knowledge into tangible primary care skills - helping to reinforce this foundational area of pediatric medicine. This is another opportunity where our residents can build and practice their clinical educator skills with one another.
Daily Lunchtime Hybrid Learning Sessions
Monday - Chief's Hour
Led by our Chief Resident, this session is meant to be flexible, adaptive, and based on key clinical pearls, topic review, to board-style question "study halls". Even our Senior Residents jump in to teach one another and grow their own skills as clinical educators.
Tuesday - Noon Report
This is a traditional case-conference style presentation, led by inpatient or subspecialty teams. This session is focused on a case presentation and intended to reinforce the intellectual puzzle of diagnosis and treatment plans using real-world scenarios.
Wednesday - Grand Rounds
Sponsored by Manning Family Children's, Grand Rounds is a collaborative effort between MFC, LSU and Tulane to provide a weekly presentation from both local and national pediatric health leaders. This is where we feature state-of-the-art advancements and explore ways to improve pediatric healthcare at a systemic level.
Fridays - Rotation Curriculums & Feedback Fridays
Based on resident feedback, we are developing and enhancing rotation-specific curricula to better support resident learning in a more immersive fashion. For example, each Friday our PICU attendings conduct a focused learning exercise - ranging from case-based discussions to PICU-oriented simulations - to ensure that key aspects of their rotation are covered for each trainee during each block. We also believe that feedback sessions are a form of didactics in an of themselves, so encourage all teams to use time on Friday for bi-directional feedback and review of team and individual goals.