Pediatric critical care fellowship
The Advocate Children's Hospital - Park Ridge Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) training program was established in 1991. The three-year program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for three PCCM fellows.
Purpose of the training program
The purpose of the fellowship is to train knowledgeable pediatric intensivists competent in the comprehensive management of any life-threatening condition in children and young adults.
This includes in-depth training in:
- Various modes of advanced life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- Transport
- Triage and trauma
- Management of renal and hepatic failure including CRRT and hemofiltration
- Treatment of poisoning
- Hematological and infectious problems
- Continuous monitoring
- Nutritional support
- Sophisticated support of the cardio respiratory failure including ECMO and advanced management of neuro-critical patients
- Management of perioperative cardiac patients with complex congenital heart disease
- Bronchoscopy and bedside ultrasonography
Tertiary-care pediatrics
A diverse patient base with a wide range of pediatric pathologies exposes the PCCM fellow to the broad spectrum of tertiary-care pediatrics. Under the supervision of the PCCM attendings, the fellow directs the care of every patient admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Advocate Children's Hospital - Park Ridge. Additional experience is gained in the Pediatric Surgical Heart Unit at Advocate Children's Hospital - Oak Lawn, actively caring for patients with congenital heart disease, and in the transplant unit at Children's Memorial Hospital treating children with solid-organ and bowel transplants.
Clinical research
Intensive introduction to the principles of basic-science and clinical research is an integral part of the fellowship. The fellow may choose to pursue basic science research at The Midwestern University of the Medical Sciences, where a full-time faculty member of the College of Pharmacy is dedicated to the fellowship program. Clinical research may be undertaken under the direction of pediatric intensivists or other subspecialists.