School of Medicine

Clinical Curriculum and Elective Rotations

 

Core Clinical Rotations

All clinical rotations take place at Manning Family Children’s Hospital, the primary teaching hospital for LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Fellows train in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Cardiac Care Unit (CCU), gaining exposure to a broad spectrum of critically ill children referred from across Louisiana and the Gulf South. Rotations are typically structured in two- to four-week blocks, allowing fellows to follow the full trajectory of critical illness—from initial stabilization through recovery and transition of care.

During each rotation, fellows work closely with a dedicated pediatric intensivist to ensure continuity of supervision and mentorship. Board-certified intensivists are present in-house providing continuous support for clinical decision-making and patient care. At the start of each week, fellows and faculty establish individualized learning objectives, with ongoing feedback provided in real time and through formal evaluations. Feedback is aligned with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education milestones, including clinical knowledge, systems-based practice, procedural skills, professionalism, communication, teaching, and leadership development.

Clinical responsibilities are distributed progressively over the three years of training. First-year fellows focus on developing a strong clinical foundation through high-volume exposure in the PICU and CCU. During the second year, fellows are afforded substantial protected time to pursue mentored scholarly activity, including the design and execution of an independent research project. In the third year, fellows transition to a more advanced leadership role, balancing clinical and research responsibilities. During this time, fellows lead the clinical service with graded autonomy under attending supervision, preparing them for independent practice.

 

Additional Clinical Rotations

In addition to core rotations in the PICU and CCU, fellows complete required rotations in anesthesia, and cardiac cath.  Additional elective time is available with the vascular access team, pulmonology, and palliative care.  Overall, elective rotations are available and tailored to each fellow’s individualized career goals.

As a developing program, nighttime coverage will evolve with a schedule designed to balance clinical experience and educational priorities. To support learning, fellows are not scheduled for overnight call immediately prior to protected didactic sessions or simulation training. Early cohorts of fellows play an important role in shaping the call structure, ensuring it meets both educational and wellness goals.

 

Block Schedule by Year  

 

Scholarly Activity & Research Training

Scholarly activity is a cornerstone of the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Manning Family Children’s Hospital. In alignment with the American Board of Pediatrics, all fellows engage in a structured, mentored scholarly experience designed to develop the skills necessary to conduct independent research and contribute meaningfully to the field of pediatric critical care.

Fellows are expected to complete and author a scholarly project by the end of training. Projects may span a wide range of disciplines, including clinical research, quality improvement, translational science, health services research, policy analysis, educational scholarship, or basic science. With access to a large and diverse patient population and a multidisciplinary faculty, fellows are able to pursue areas of interest without restriction to specific topics or methodologies.

Mentorship is central to the success of scholarly development. Each fellow is thoughtfully paired with a clinical and research mentor, and supported by a Scholarship Oversight Committee (SOC), which meets semiannually to ensure progress, provide guidance, and maintain accountability throughout the fellowship.

 

Year-by-Year Scholarly Development

First Year: Fellows are assigned a clinical mentor who supports their transition into fellowship and guides early scholarly development. Fellows are encouraged to develop clinical questions that may lead to case reports, retrospective studies, or future research projects.  By the end of the first year, fellows should have identified a research mentor, and have a project idea to present to the SOC.

Second Year: During the latter part of the first year and into the second year, fellows identify a primary research project and select a dedicated research mentor. At this stage, the Scholarship Oversight Committee is formally established. Fellows begin focused work on their research project and are expected to present early scholarly work at local or regional meetings.

Third Year: During this time, fellows complete their scholarly project and are expected to present their work at regional and/or national conferences, with the goal of producing publishable work.