Our Children’s Hospital Inpatient Pediatric Specialists (CHIPS) teams see over 11,500 patients annually. Two of these teams are staffed by pediatric residents. These teams consist of one PL-2 overseeing two interns (either family medicine, pediatrics, or emergency medicine). Admissions are alternated between all teams, and each team can accept patients with any subspecialty or general pediatrics diagnosis.

Common diagnoses in CHIPS include BRUE, neonatal fever, bronchiolitis, asthma, seizure, suicidal ideation, suspected child abuse and hyperbilirubinemia. Our teams also care for patients admitted with DKA and those requiring complex coordination of care. Third-year pediatric residents serve on an admitting team during the day and cover subspecialty teams at night (Heme/Onc, Nephrology, Gastroenterology and Newborn Nursery). Residents currently complete 8 months of CHIPS: 3 as a PL-1, 3 as a PL-2 and 2 as a PL-3.

The Ricky Hendrick Center for Intensive Care is a combined PICU/CVICU with 1,500 annual admissions. It has a Level I Pediatric Trauma designation and handles all pathophysiology, including traumatic brain injury, multisystem organ failure, solid organ transplant, bone marrow transplant, severe septic shock, ARDS and renal failure. The center utilizes all methods of critical care support, including ECMO, high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV), neutrally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). We are ranked in the top 5% nationally for the severity of illness seen in our PICU.

The PICU team consists of two pediatric residents, one or two emergency medicine residents, medical students and an attending ICU physician. PICU rounds are multidisciplinary, featuring the intensive care physician, charge nurse, respiratory therapist, pharmacist, bedside nurse and the patient’s family. Residents complete 2 months of PICU, one as a PL-2 and one as a PL-3.

There are approximately 7,000 deliveries at CMC each year. Our newborn nursery team consists of 2 attending physicians, a pediatrics PL-3, a pediatrics PL-1, a family medicine intern and 3 advanced practice providers. Residents attend low-risk deliveries in the mornings along with the NICU delivery team.

The 53-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery (NICN) admits about 1,000 infants each year. The nursery serves as a regional referral center for subspecialty care of all newborns, including those needing ECMO, pediatric surgery and pediatric cardiology evaluation and surgery. NICU infant care is provided by a team of neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs) and residents, each supervised by neonatologists. The PL-1 and PL-2 function independently and typically carry 8–10 patients. A favorite educational experience for residents is the morning lecture, covering topics such as delivery room orientation, congenital anomalies, metabolic disorders, genetic syndromes, neonatal circulation and the transition to extrauterine life.

The 32-bed Neonatal Progressive Care Nursery (NPCN) serves as a “step-down” unit for the NICN and provides care for growing neonates who no longer need intensive care. This unit is staffed by NNPs.

Serving as the site for our Pediatric Residency’s continuity clinic, Myers Park Pediatrics is the largest safety net provider in the region. Our patient base is primarily Medicaid and Self-pay, and we see patients from birth until 18 years of age. Myers Park averages approximately 27,000 visits per year and provides about 41,000 immunizations annually. Support services include on-site social workers, a nutritionist, in-house Spanish interpreters, clinical pharmacists and community case managers.

The continuity clinic experience is an essential part of the residency curriculum. Each resident is assigned to a team and will see their own panel of patients one half day per week, allowing for the opportunity to establish and maintain relationships with their patients and families. Ambulatory months are spent seeing a combination of acute care visits and visiting different subspecialty clinics.

Residents in our program make significant contributions to the various quality initiatives at Myers Park Pediatrics. This includes projects such as Reach Out and Read, Toxic Stress and Resilience, Blood Pressure Monitoring, The Basics Mecklenburg and Firearm Safety, among others. Residents also have opportunities to participate in programs like the 5210 Childhood Healthy Habits Clinic, Asthma Clinic, Medical Legal Partnership, Integrative Behavioral Health and more.

Atrium Health Levine Children’s Subspecialty Center is located on the campus of Carolinas Medical Center. While all of our pediatric clinics have satellite locations throughout greater Charlotte, this is the central location for most of our subspecialty clinics. Cardiology, Gastroenterology, Genetics, Infectious Disease, Nephrology, Orthopedics, Pulmonology, Rehabilitation, Rheumatology and Surgery hold clinics in the subspecialty center. In addition to elective opportunities, our residents rotate through select subspecialties as part of their ambulatory clinic months.

Teen Health Connection is the leading provider of specialized medical and mental healthcare for adolescents and young adults, ages 11–25, in the Charlotte region. Our fellowship-trained and board-certified adolescent medicine physicians provide comprehensive, integrated care with the help of social work and mental health professionals on-site. Teen Health Connection also offers consultative services to help primary care providers in the community offer reproductive healthcare and depression and anxiety medication management.

Residents complete a month of adolescent medicine as a PL-1 and have the option to complete an office-based longitudinal preceptorship at Teen Health Connection.