Message from the Chair
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Lawrence M. Rhein, MD, MPH |
Friends,
Welcome to the Residency Program of the Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School and UMassMemorial Children’s Medical Center (CMC). I hope you will consider joining our team of incredible clinicians, teachers, mentors, and investigators. Ours is a special place that takes outstanding care of patients and puts education at the forefront of our priorities. Our residency program is cherished and each resident is given the chance to learn and grow in a wonderfully collegial yet challenging environment.
The CMC is the only tertiary care health care facility for infants, children, and adolescents in central Massachusetts. Since 2005, we have been members of the Children's Hospital Association. We have the region’s only Level I accredited Trauma Center for Children, the only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and the only Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). We have more than 100 medical and surgical specialists and subspecialists trained and skilled in the care of children. We also have more than 500 support staff in related disciplines such as nursing, social work, psychology, nutrition, and child life. In the past year, the CMC admitted over 4,000 children to the inpatient and critical care units, cared for more than 25,000 children in the Pediatric Emergency Department, and recorded over 55,000 patient visits in the Ambulatory Service.
All the physicians in the CMC are faculty members in the University of Massachusetts Medical School which is immediately adjacent to the hospital. In addition to providing clinical care and teaching, they are engaged in research in multiple topics related to child health such as HIV, leukemia, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, transfusion, teen pregnancy, infant mortality, and health care delivery. The faculty of the CMC is particularly supportive and provides a fantastic learning environment for our learners.
In the CMC, we consider every child in central Massachusetts to be “our” child and seek to provide the best place to get care, no matter the circumstances. We want to be the best place to give care and feel it is our responsibility to teach our residents to be outstanding clinicians and future leaders. Our residents are highly successful in securing excellent positions following residency. We strongly emphasize primary care training, but also provide broad exposure to all pediatric subspecialties, and half of our residents continue on to fellowship and academic positions.
We know that medical care for children has changed dramatically in recent years and our program has adapted accordingly. Many children with complex conditions such as cancer, diabetes, cystic fibrosis, and other chronic illnesses are routinely cared for in the community rather than in the hospital. We utilize multi-disciplinary teams and outpatient networks to foster excellence in complex care and we make a special effort to ensure that we provide family-centered care for all of our patients.
Our graduating residents get into their top choices for their next career step, whether that is a job in a desired primary care practice, or a subspecialty fellowship spot. We have a wide range of quality improvement and clinical research opportunities to augment the clinical experiences. We also pride ourselves in our dedication to work-life balance, and our collegial relationships. Our goal is to make sure you graduate as a confident, outstanding pediatrician and that you have a terrific experience throughout your training.
We appreciate your interest in our very special pediatric residency and look forward to meeting you.
Lawrence M. Rhein, MD, MPHAssociate Professor of PediatricsStoddard Chair, Department of PediatricsDivision Chief, NeonatologyDirector, Center for Healthy Infant Lung Development