We offer one pediatric surgery fellowship position each year. Over the two year program, the fellow will learn, perform, and teach both core and complex pediatric surgical procedures. The pediatric surgery fellow is ultimately responsible for the supervision of the pediatric surgical service, including inpatient and outpatient consultations, pre- and post-operative care, and all operative procedures.
Our fellowship program offers:
- Excellent advanced clinical exposure: Pediatric surgery fellows at Michigan see an unusually wide spectrum of cases in our high-volume academic medical center, which includes C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, a major referral center for children in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Fellows gain expertise in all aspects of the discipline, including perinatal care, thoracic cases, minimally invasive surgery, oncology, neonatal, and fetal medicine. This experience includes a significant portion of unusual and complex cases, including from our Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center.
- Diverse formal training: Fellowship training will include head and neck, non-cardiac thoracic, abdominal and alimentary tract (esophageal, foregut, bariatric, hepatic-pancreatic-biliary, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal), trauma (acute and critical care), oncologic, endocrine and vascular anomalies,fetal and neonatal, vascular access, diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, bronchoscopy, and minimally invasive surgery.
- Competency-based training: Our core strengths and priorities are mentorship, leadership, scholarship, well-being and diversity. We focus on the autonomy of our fellows, treating them as colleagues, using a competency-based approach for training. We have the highest standards for the care of patients, in and out of the operating room, working in high-fidelity teams throughout the healthcare system.
Mission & Goals
The Michigan Medicine Pediatric Surgery mission is to bring excellence and passion to the care of all children. We do this through innovation, compassionate clinical care, education and advocacy to optimize the quality of life for each child.
Our core strengths and priorities are mentorship, leadership, scholarship, well-being and diversity. The pediatric surgery fellowship program at the University of Michigan aims to:
- Train the next generation of highly competent, innovative academic leaders in pediatric surgery to lead highly diverse, multidisciplinary teams
- Provide a positive, supportive and safe learning environment and culture for the different academic phenotypes to achieve their maximum potential where fellows are happy, healthy and thriving in and out of the OR
- Select our applicants through process that reflects our commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity
Rotations
Fellows rotate in the following specialties:
- Critical Care: Rounds and patient care with the neonatology, pediatric ICU and congenital heart teams to learn about neonatal diseases and the management of critically-ill surgical patients
- General and Cardiac Anesthesiology: Perform intubations and intravenous lines, induction, maintenance and monitoring of anesthesia during surgery as well as participate in congenital heart surgeries, learning about the complex reconstructive and palliative procedures available
- Clinic: To meet the half-day each week, the fellow rotates through the outpatient care of surgical patients, inclusive of prenatal consultations
- Otolaryngology and Urology: The pediatric surgical fellow participates in operative cases and shadows outpatient consultations in pediatric urology and otolaryngology
- International rotation: Exposure to a different culture, learning about available resources to provide quality care for children in an LMIC
Courses & Conferences
Beyond standard clinical experiences, the fellows receive formal training and participate in learning and networking at the Pediatric Colorectal and Pelvic Course (junior year), the St. Jude's Oncology Course (senior year), and attend American Pediatric Surgery Association (APSA) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Surgery annual meetings (junior and senior year, respectively). Additional opportunities to attend conferences based on individual needs will be offered as well. All fellows will be PALS, ATLS and ACLS certified at the start of their training.
Our regional conferences include Complex Case Management Conference (weekly), Radiology-Pathology (monthly), Grand Rounds (monthly), Pediatric Surgery Core Lecture Series (monthly), and the monthly Death and Complications (which includes Cultural Complications). We also have multi-disciplinary clinical conferences that the fellows are encouraged to attend when able in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (monthly), Fetal (weekly), Endocrine (monthly), Tumor Board (weekly), and Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (twice a week). During a monthly PEC, the pediatric surgery fellows lead the discussion of service and education issues that can be improved and provide feedback on the rotating students, residents and fellows.
Research & Academic Opportunities
The fellows have opportunities to further develop the tools and skills for critical thinking, knowledge of literature searching, and critical reading for clinical projects. There is vast opportunity for participation in translational, clinical outcomes, health services and educational research in the rich academic environment throughout The University of Michigan. Each fellow will also complete a quality improvement project geared towards improving healthcare delivery for pediatric surgical patients and families. During a quarterly standardization meeting, the faculty and fellows discuss changes to current practice based on literature review. We have a weekly Research Conference and Mentorship Academy within Pediatric Surgery where on-going projects are discussed in addition to where leadership training and career development occurs.
