Outpatient Pediatrics
Residents spend time at several important sites outside of the hospital. These sites provide an environment in which the resident develops expertise in basic health assessment, health education for patients and their families, child advocacy, working with a health care team, and managing an office practice.
Private Physician Practices:Residents obtain real-life pediatric practice experience by choosing from a range of opportunities, from small-group practices to large HMOs. Preceptors are faculty members who exhibit an exceptionally strong interest and aptitude for teaching. Residents experience how doctors and staff provide comprehensive medical care in the reality of today’s health care marketplace.
Inova Pediatric Center:
TheInova Pediatric Center, a short walk of the hospital, provides pediatric care for the underserved population in a multicultural setting. Approximately 15,000 visits occur annually. Residents play an integral role in the care of these patients, the majority of whom are immigrants from across the globe. Residents work with public health workers, social services, health educators, and nursing staff to address the medical and psychosocial needs of these patients. Approximately one third of our residents choose to do their continuity clinic at this location, and all of our residents spend one block there per year.
Continuity Clinic:
Each resident spends one afternoon per week in an office setting where patients are seen specifically by the resident. Each resident has the opportunity to visit several offices to decide which might offer him or her the best experience. Residents may elect to do their continuity clinic at the Inova Pediatric Center, at a local HMO, or in a private practice office. A resident is generally paired with a preceptor with whom he or she will work throughout the three years of residency.
Subspecialty Clinics:
Subspecialty pediatrics is obtained through a number of required and elective rotations. The curriculum in each subspecialty emphasizes the ambulatory aspects of the practice. Residents gain experience in the evaluation of complex patients while acquiring insight into the appropriate use of subspecialty referrals. This experience enhances the quality of collaboration between primary care physicians and subspecialists. Residents have the opportunity to rotate in any pediatric subspecialty, including international health.
This facility provides outpatient behavioral health care for children, adolescents, and their families. Services include assessment and management of the full spectrum of psychiatric and substance abuse problems of children ages 5 through 18. A day program, including school, represents an important aspect of these children’s treatment. The medical director, board-certified in pediatrics and child/adolescent psychiatry, supervises residents at the Kellar Center.
Adolescence:This rotation includes office-based adolescent experience, including the college student clinics at Georgetown University. As part of this rotation, residents obtain experience with gynecologic issues of adolescents. Residents also see adolescents during their inpatient and outpatient rotations.
Emergency Department:Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children features a dedicated Pediatric Emergency Department. One of the busiest in the Washington, DC area, our ED is staffed exclusively with pediatric emergency medicine physicians and pediatric nurses. It serves as a Level I pediatric trauma center and represents a referral center for much of northern Virginia via ground and air transportation. A thriving pediatric emergency medicine fellowship accepts one to two fellows each year.
