The UAB Pediatric Residency Program is a resident-driven program that provides diverse general pediatric training through extensive hands-on experience and scholarly activities. During their training, residents have the opportunity to explore every aspect of pediatrics from outpatient to critical care medicine and every subspecialty within the field. Additionally, residents are able to participate in a variety of research projects with department faculty and community outreach and advocacy.

The residency program consists of 73 categorical pediatric residents. We also have three combined programs that participate in pediatric training. Our combined programs include Internal Medicine/Pediatric Residency, Child Neurology Residency and Medical Genetics/Pediatrics Residency. Our programs are diverse. The backgrounds of our residents are:

• African American—11%
• Asian—10%
• Hispanic—5%
• Native American—1%
• White—73%

Our program provides residents with a stimulating, challenging, yet nurturing environment for learning. Our dedicated and bright faculty are critical elements in fulfilling this goal. They are dedicated to our program and residents, serving as teachers, role models, advisors and friends. Residents are trained to treat and diagnose a wide range of pediatric illnesses and diseases from common conditions to rarer “zebras” due to the large volume, high acuity and variety of patients seen at Children’s of Alabama. During their training, residents have the opportunity to participate in simulation education that greatly enhances their hands-on education.

Research is an important part of our residents’ education and is encouraged and supported by the program. While research is not a requirement of our program, the majority of our residents have ongoing research projects, extensive involvement in quality improvement projects and/or experience in clinical case presentations. Several residents present at regional and national meetings. For the past 10 years, 57% of our graduates have continued into academic fellowships.

The program offers multiple opportunities for the residents to participate in research during their residency. Some of these include:

Pediatric Research Academic Program: research interest group that meets monthly to discuss basic research topics, set monthly goals and network with each other as well as faculty.

Senior Talks: Every graduating resident (PGY-3 Pediatric and PGY-4 MedPeds and Peds/Genetics) presents a 30-minute evidence-based medicine topic at a Resident Noon Conference throughout the year. Below are some of the topics that were presented in 2021:

• “Nutrition, Obesity & Metabolic Health”—Dr. Laura Crocker Mitchell
• “Chronic Disease in Adolescence”—Dr. Anne Byrd Mahoney
• “Intimate Partner Violence: The Power of The Pediatrician”—Dr. J. Alex Paulsen
• “Legislative Advocacy for Pediatricians in Alabama”—Dr. Aubrey Coleman
• “Engaging Fathers in Primary Care Pediatrics”—Dr. Adam Powell
• “Resilience: The Biology of Stress and The Science of Hope”—Dr. Sarah Spencer
• “Myths of Medicine”—Dr. Anderson Marshall
• “Just Plain Genetics: Amish Paradise”—Dr. Katherine Mascia
• “Whitewashed Medicine: Health Care’s Systemic Racism and Need to Do Better”—Dr. Patrick Snyder

Quality Improvement Projects: Every resident must participate in a QI project during their residency. They are able to join projects that have already been started by previous residents or create a new one, depending on their interests. Below is a sampling of resident QI projects.

• Obesity Prevention
• Firearm Safety in PCC
• Improving the Discharge Process for Spanish-speaking-only Patients
• Bridging the Gap: Improving Transition from Pediatric to Adult Care
• Inpatient Interventions for Improved Infant Safe Sleep
• Increase Influenza Vaccinations in PHM Admissions
• Enhanced Provider Communication and Facilitated Workflow to Reduce Excessive Fluid Accumulation in Extremely Low Birthweight Infants

UAB Pediatric Science Day: Pediatric residents can attend or present at this all-day Department of Pediatrics conference. (See fellowship program section for more information.)

UAB ENRICH (Educational Research & Innovation in Clinical & Health Sciences) Week: A weeklong conference for health care educators that promotes teaching skills, fosters curriculum innovation and showcases research in health education for the 21st century.

Founders’ Fund Grants: These research grants are awarded annually to peer-selected projects to help residents accomplish research goals. Each project is given $1,000. (See the Founders’ Fund Grants section for a list of projects from this year).

Attendance at national and regional meetings is supported by the Department of Pediatrics throughout the year. Below is a list of conferences our residents have attended virtually (due to COVID-19) this year.

• Southern Society for Pediatric Research (SSPR)—11 residents presented at the 2021 conference.
• UAB Department of Pediatrics Patient Safety and Quality Day—11 residents presented at the 2020 conference.

Abstracts were also accepted to:

• Pediatrics Academic Society

Acad Med. 2021 Feb 1;96(2):176-181. Admissions Is Not Enough: The Racial Achievement Gap in Medical Education. Alana C Jones‏, Alana C Nichols‏, Carmel M McNicholas‏, Fatima C Stanford‏.

Acad Med. 2021 Feb 1;96(2):241-248. Are We Measuring What Matters? How Student and Clerkship Characteristics Influence Clinical Grading. Mary A Ingram‏, Joseph L Pearman‏, Carlos A Estrada‏, Anne Zinski‏, Winter L Williams‏.

Cardiol Young. 2021 Jan 28;1-4. Heart failure in an elderly man: where is that coronary? Charlie J Sang‏, Stephen A Clarkson‏, Elizabeth A Jackson‏, Firas Al Solaiman‏, Marc G Cribbs‏.

Cardiovasc Pathol. 2021 Jul 14;107370. Cardiac Pathology in COVID-19: A Single Center Autopsy Experience. Charlie J Sang‏‏, Alison Burkett‏, Brittain Heindl‏, Silvio H Litovsky‏, Sumanth D Prabhu‏, Paul V Benson‏, Indranee Rajapreyar‏.

J Pediatr. 2021 Apr;231:55-60.e1. Early Skin-to-Skin Care with a Polyethylene Bag for Neonatal Hypothermia: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Colm P Travers, Manimaran Ramani, Samuel J Gentle, Amelia Schuyler, Catherine Brown, Madeline M Dills, Claire B Davis, Musaku Mwenechanya, Elwyn Chomba, Inmaculada Aban, Albert Manasyan, Namasivayam Ambalavanan, Waldemar A Carlo.

We are very proud of the research accomplishments of our pediatric residents and grateful to the Department of Pediatrics faculty and fellows who have mentored and inspired their work.

Our program also offers residents opportunities to get involved in community outreach and advocacy. The Coat of Arms Committee (Community, Outreach and Advocacy) was founded in 2003 to help to facilitate and organize residents’ advocacy efforts by providing volunteer opportunities for residents and partnerships with community organizations.

Over half of our residents are involved in community outreach activities and advocacy. Several residents are involved with the Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and participate the state’s AAP meetings in the spring and fall as well as Pediatric Legislative Day in Montgomery. Our interns have an injury prevention and advocacy experience to help them discover ways to become involved and make a difference.

Since 2007, the residents have organized the Spring Scramble 5K in the spring to promote healthy choices among our community’s youth and raise funds to directly support the health and well-being of the children in our community. This year’s 5K took place in the heart of Homewood with Patrick Snyder directing the fundraiser.