Pediatric Emergency Medicine in 2011 is an evolving field. From it’s infancy we as Pediatric ER providers have trained and largely practiced in the major medical centers and university hospitals. With population growths in the suburbs and the demand for higher levels of care for children, from an ever more sophisticated community, the growth in this field is shifting to the communities. Also, the overwhelming number of children treated in emergency departments in the United States are treated in general and community hospitals. As a group and a hospital – we are committed to training the future ER doctors and Pediatricians to care in this environment.

At Shady Grove we teach third year pediatric residents from Georgetown as well as first and third year ER residents from Washington Hospital Center. We have rapidly become a favorite rotation for both programs. Their training here benefits all – the residents get one-on-one teaching with an attending physician and first dibs on most procedures. We get to teach them at the bedside and when things are slow, we get to teach them from our “canned” lectures – but in a discussion format where we can answer all of their questions. They get one-on-one supervision for procedures ranging from lumbar puncture and suturing to intubation and chest tube placement. All of these can be invaluable to doctors in training.

The benefits are mutual – for they also teach us. We learn the current trends in academic medicine – not just in pediatric ER but in the ICU, in subspecialties – as they are rotating in those fields as well. Also, they ask us pointed questions that allow for critical review of how we take care of patients – this aids us to continually improve the quality of care we afford our patients.

Our relationship with Georgetown also allows the doctors to lecture at both Georgetown and Washington Hospital Center. This has turned the Pediatric ER at Shady Grove into a truly hybrid program – some academics and some clinical practice but in a hands on community hospital. We will all continue to benefit as these relationships evolve.