Mission

The NCC Pediatrics Residency aims to train board-certified pediatricians, sought-after medical educators, and physician-leaders capable of delivering top-notch care for pediatric patients - from 22 weeks' gestation through 22 years - in any environment, from tertiary care hospitals, isolated clinics, and the austere conditions of humanitarian and battlefield crises. This mission supports the National Capital Consortium and Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences by producing world-wide deployable pediatricians to provide care for families of our Uniformed Services personnel and children anywhere on the globe as required to support our Nation's mission or in times of need.

Vision

Our curriculum is designed to allow the faculty to certify that our graduates can be entrusted to perform the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) of a General Pediatrician. Our faculty and residents use a variety of teaching methods to reach every type of learning style in order to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitude needed to independently perform these EPAs.

Aims

1. To provide pediatric training that will meet and exceed the standards of the Review Committee (RC) for Pediatrics as set forth by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
2. To prepare graduates of the program to successfully complete the certification process of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)
3. To train pediatricians to meet the needs of the uniformed services
4. To provide pediatric training that will allow graduates to successfully practice pediatric medicine in a variety of settings (e.g. military, academic, managed care, private practice)
5. To prepare our residents to function with other members of the health care team in both inpatient and ambulatory settings so they may become proficient as leaders in the organization and management of patient care
6. To teach out residents the skills for lifelong learning that will allow them to practice competently throughout their career

Our program is dedicated to the education of our residents and faculty. We have daily Morning Reports, weekly Continuity Clinics, and monthly Academic Half Days.

Morning Report

Our program has a dedicated 60-minute daily morning report and lecture that is attended by the entire department. During the first 20 minutes, an intern or junior trainee reviews recent admissions and highlights an interesting case, while a senior resident provides teaching points. This role is unique among pediatric residencies and is aligned with the reality that our graduates practice as the local pediatric expert in remote locations where they must teach and lead medical teams. During the final 40 minutes, our faculty or fellows present lectures aligned with the American Board of Pediatrics content specifications. The first month of residency deals with emergency and acute care pediatrics topics from all specialties. Other core rotating topics include our Clinicopathologic Case conferences, Journal Clubs, and Morbidity and Mortality conferences.

Continuity Clinic

Occurring every continuity clinic day from 12:15-1 p.m., faculty and residents discuss common pediatric topics and conditions, which rotate over a 3-year cycle. Our continuity clinic was developed by our faculty a decade ago and is nationally recognized with multiple military and civilian programs utilizing our 60+ modules for their General Pediatrics curriculum.

Academic Half Day

Beginning in Academic Year 2022-23, the Academic Half Day is an opportunity for an in-depth, interactive, hands-on exploration of a different specialty each month. Previous Academic Half Day activities include hands-on developmental testing of faculty kids, a NICU code-cart “relay race”, and a pulmonary function test and asthma treatment round robin. The final hour of the Academic Half Day is a full-program Housestaff Meeting led by the Chief Resident.

Grand Rounds

During the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month, pediatric residents attend Grand Rounds at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS). Pediatric Grand Rounds are designed to improve the broad practice of pediatric medicine, including patient care, healthcare research, medical education, public health, military medicine, and innovation.

Pediatrics residency rotation schedule per year.

Core Electives: Program-level requirements

• Adolescent Medicine
• Pediatric Orthopedics & Sports Medicine
• Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
• Community Pediatrics
• AFCCP (Child Abuse) ( two weeks)/Anesthesia (two weeks)

Elective Guidelines

• Major electives: Four rotations required, total 16 weeks
• Minor electives: Three additional rotations required, total 12 weeks

Major Electives

• Allergy/Immunology
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Pediatric Dermatology
• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Genetics
• Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
• Pediatric Infectious Disease
• Pediatric Nephrology
• Pediatric Neurology
• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Pediatric Rheumatology

Minor Electives (Residents also can develop their own elective with mentorship)

• Pediatric Anesthesia
• Pediatric Sedation Unit
• Pediatric Orthopedics/Sports Medicine
• Pediatric Radiology
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CNMC)
• Pediatric Surgical Subspecialty
• Humanitarian and Global Health Medicine
• Lactation
• Research Elective
• Teaching Elective

Our Call Schedule is structured to allow ample resident learning opportunities and keep patient-centric safe care in our inpatient units, while also maximizing work-life balance and well-being.

Wards

• Our Pediatric Ward is staffed by at least two residents at all times, with the goal to allow as much continuity from the team as possible.
• A Night Float system ensures weekday overnight coverage with a PGY1 and PGY2 team. Cross-covering residents on outpatient rotations will typically take 12 or 24 hour call on Saturdays and Sundays

NICU/Newborn Nursery

• Our Newborn Nursery and NICU are staffed by at least two providers at all times. This will often be a resident partnered with a fellow or attending.
• A Night Float system ensures weekday overnight coverage with a PGY3 and fellow/attending team. Cross-covering residents on outpatient rotations will typically take 12 or 24 hour call on Saturdays and Sundays

Civilian Inpatient Rotations

• There is no additional call at Walter Reed. Call will be dictated by the outside institutions' scheduling needs.

Other Highlights

• Every resident gets one self-selected “call-free” block per academic year
• No q3 or q4 Call
• Residents can expect to work on average 1.5 call shifts (~36hrs/block) while on outpatient services.
• At least one golden weekend guaranteed on all outpatient blocks
• Back-up/Jeopardy Call schedule in place for residents in case of emergency or illness with total time on back-up call 3-4 weeks per year

Core Electives, Simulation, Morning Report

Several of our core electives (e.g. Adolescent, Sports Medicine, Anesthesia) prepare our Pediatrics Residents for operational medicine roles. Given that most Armed Forces personnel are less than 25 years old, our Adolescent rotation highlights the special healthcare needs of the Active-Duty population. In addition, our simulation curriculum focuses on key knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in a deployed environment. Finally, operational medical topics such as sports injuries, eye injuries, dive medicine, flight medicine and field dermatologic conditions are offered during seminars and during Morning Report.

Combat Casualty Care Course

All Navy Interns and Army PGY3s who have not completed Operation Bushmaster will complete C4, an 8-day education program designed to enhance the operational medical readiness and pre-deployment trauma training skills of medical officers. Students learn care under fire, tactical field and evacuation care, roles of care, and point-of-injury to Role II scenarios, all with the goal of leading health care operations in an austere, combat environment.

Military Medical Humanitarian Assistance Course (MMHAC)

The NCC Pediatrics Residency trains every resident in the MMHAC, which was co-developed by a member of our faculty in 1998. The 2-day course is offered on-site each year. Topics include the civilian-military relationship & Non-Governmental Organizations. Residents learn how to run an ORT program and use the World Health Organization

Medical Kit to treat infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, and measles

The course is practical and hands-on: residents drink ORT, perform mock epidemiologic surveillance, and eat a HA ration for lunch on the 2nd day.

Humanitarian and Global Health Rotations

1. MEDRETE Honduras- Joint Task Force Bravo (JTF-B) of SOUTHCOM sponsors medical mission to allied nations in Central & South America, and the residency assists with up to 2 missions to Honduras each year. The missions include outreach medical assistance to remote areas & providing pre-op and recovery pediatric services to pediatric surgical teams.
2. USNS Comfort/USNS Mercy- The USNS Comfort is a 1,000-bed hospital ship that serves a critical peacetime role in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance operations such as the January 2010 response to Haiti after the earthquake. The Comfort has had missions to Latin America every other year, and our pediatric residents can rotate during its real-world operations.
3. Tropical Medicine Training Program- Since 2006, the Division of Tropical Public Health at the Uniformed Services University (USU) has sponsored the Tropical Medicine Training Program (TMTP). NCC Peds residents can rotate in India, Peru, and Thailand as part of this program and have participated in clinical care, research, and public health initiatives at each of these sites.

IHI Basic Certificate in Quality & Safety

https://www.ihi.org/education/ihi-open-school/curriculum-and-ce-credits

The IHI Open School Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety, a micro-certification program comprising 13 courses (17.75 total hours), provides a well-rounded introduction to quality, safety, population health, equity, health care leadership, and person- and family-centered care. All Pediatric residents complete the IHI Basic Certificate during Intern Orientation.

PALS/ PALS Instructor

https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class/als-and-pals/pals-certification

Throughout your Pediatric Advanced Life Support course, you'll learn to assess, recognize and provide high-quality care to pediatric patients experiencing life-threatening medical emergencies, including shock, cardiac and respiratory events, as well as how to provide care after the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) during a resuscitation effort. All Pediatric residents receive PALS Provider training during PGY-1 Orientation and PALS instructor training during the PGY-3 year.

NRP/ NRP Instructor  

https://www.aap.org/en/pedialink/neonatal-resuscitation-program/

The Neonatal Resuscitation Program® course conveys an evidence-based approach to care of the newborn at birth and facilitates effective team-based care for healthcare professionals who care for newborns at the time of delivery. NRP utilizes a blended learning approach, which includes online testing and hands-on case-based simulation/debriefing that focus on critical leadership, communication, and team-work skills. All Pediatric residents receive NRP Provider training during Intern Orientation and NRP instructor training during the PGY2 year.

STABLE/ STABLE Instructor

https://stableprogram.org/

S.T.A.B.L.E. is a neonatal education program to focus exclusively on the post-resuscitation/pre-transport stabilization care of sick infants. S.T.A.B.L.E. stands for the six assessment and care modules in the program: Sugar, Temperature, Airway, Blood pressure, Lab work, and Emotional support. All Pediatric residents receive STABLE Provider training during Intern Orientation and STABLE instructor training during the PGY-3 year.

PFCCS

https://www.sccm.org/Education-Center/Educational-Programming/Fundamentals/Pediatric-Fundamental-Critical-Care-Support

Pediatric Fundamental Critical Care Support (PFCCS) trains non-intensivists to recognize critical illness and initiate care for the critically ill pediatric patient and is recommended for any healthcare professional who may encounter a critically ill or injured pediatric patient. The course addresses fundamental management principles for the first 24 hours of post-resuscitation management of the critically ill pediatric patient or until transfer or appropriate critical care consultation can be arranged. All Pediatric residents receive PFCSS Provider training prior to their first PICU rotation during PGY2 year.

Our hospital boasts one of the most extensive medical simulation facilities in the United States. Our residents use both the USUHS and Walter Reed Simulation Centers to practice procedures, interview and examine mock patients, and participate in team-based mock code scenarios. Our Simulation Curriculum includes monthly Morning Report sessions dedicated the following high-yield pediatric procedures: lumbar puncture, suturing, incision and drainage of abscesses, foreign body removal, intubation and airway management, needle decompression, establishing access (venipuncture, arterial stick, intraosseous needle), and bladder catheterization. We also hold special sessions each year on interprofessional and patient-and-family-centered communication topics such as “Breaking Bad News,” “Cross-Cultural Communication,” and I-PASS Handoff and Patient-and-Family-Centered Rounds Training.

The Military Medical Officership Course (MMOC) is a peer led course designed to augment the medical education of our residents by familiarizing them with different aspects of their upcoming role as a military officer, including officer reports and enlisted evaluations, career pathways, promotions, necessary administrative tasks, professional education, pay information, how to lead both military and civilian personnel, and more. It consists of short sessions spread out throughout and updated each academic year that are taught by more junior officers who have most recently experienced the transition from resident physician to practicing military physician. The course is paired with our program’s tri-service military advisor program, to increase military officer mentorship for all our residents. The MMOC Curriculum was developed by a Class of 2022 graduate and earned a poster presentation at the 2022 Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) Conference.

Our residents have been highly successful in scholarly activity, earning numerous poster and platform presentations at regional, national, and international conferences, multiple local and national research awards, and several peer-reviewed publications each academic year. Our research curriculum is guided by the Pediatrics ACGME requirement that “Residents must participate in scholarship”. More specifically, “A broad and inclusive view of scholarship is encouraged. Scholarly activities may include basic, translational, and clinical research and/or projects in patient safety, quality improvement, patient engagement, health equity, and medical education, among others.”

Scholarly Oversight Committee for Residents (SOCR)  

SOCR was created to track resident Advocacy-Research-Military studies (ARM) projects and help facilitate scholarly activity. The committee, chaired by two SOCR “coaches,” is composed of faculty and fellows who have research and mentorship experience and can offer guidance on scholarly work at any stage of development.

Advocacy-Research-Military studies (ARM) Program

The ARM Program is a longitudinal curricular experience embedded within the traditional block-rotation curricular structure. This allows for a curricular experience individualized to the resident’s future career plans, in line with ACGME Pediatric Resident Review Committee guidelines.

• All residents have one ARM half-day per block to individualize their education to fit with their future career goals, giving them an opportunity to engage in advocacy, subspecialty care, quality improvement, research, military pediatrics, and other pediatric-related fields. This longitudinal block is specifically directed towards each individual resident’s learning goals, helping to prepare residents to move on to the next phase of their careers.
• A 2nd ARM half-day may be granted by the Scholarly Oversight Committee for Residents (SOCR) to residents who present a specific project that aligns with an ARM domain: Examples of Possible ARM Experiences, by domain:
  • Research
    • Bench, Clinical, Educational
    • Case Report/Series
    • Review Article
  • Quality Improvement
  • Education
    • Attending USUHS or WRB Faculty Development courses
  • Military
    • Achieving Military Qualification
  • Teaching Experience
    • Curriculum Development
    • Formal instructional role
  • Volunteering/Advocacy
    • Volunteering at student health clinic at local high school or college
    • Volunteering as team doctor for a local high school or college sports team
    • Volunteering at clinic for indigent children
    • Volunteer work at the Federal AAP Office
    • Volunteer work with a legislative health affairs assistant in Congress
  • Enhanced Clinical Experience
    • Multi-D Clinic participation (e.g. CF, craniofacial, DM clinic, NICU grad clinic, Lupus Clinic, Long Term Cancer Survivor Clinic, Sickle Cell Clinic, Spina Bifida Clinic, Spasticity Clinic)
    • Participation in specialty clinics or conferences at other hospitals

Case Report Hackathon

Began in 2021, each fall NCC Peds residents, fellows, and faculty get together in teams for a “Case Report Hackathon”. This session is a concentrated evening of brainstorming, drafting, and pizza-eating, with the result being a draft of a case report for submission to regional and national conferences or even eventual publication. A few of our past success stories include:

• “Open Your Eyes to a New Variation of Ethylmalonic Encephalopathy”- Finalist NCR 2023 conference, AAP 2023 conference
• “To Steal or Not to Steal: A Rare Pediatric Case of Congenital Isolated Left Subclavian Artery”- Presented at NCR 2023 conference and AAP 2023 conference
• “Pyruvate Dehydrogenase deficiency in a newborn with congenital absence of the corpus callosum”- Finalist NCR 2023 conference “VACTERL-L: A unique presentation of VACTERL association with pulmonary manifestations”- Winner NCR 2023 conference, presented at AAP 2023 conference
• “The Great Masquerader: The Uncommon Presentation of a Common Pathology”- Presented at NCR 2022 conference, AAP 2022 conference
• “Congenital lymphatic dysplasia and severe bone disease in a term neonate with homozygous PIEZ01mutation”- First place at NCR 2022 conference

• Residents in the NCC Pediatrics Residency program participate in quality improvement/process improvement (QI/PI) during their training, guided by the Defense Health Agency (DHA) A3 methodology.
• The goal of each academic year will be to complete a project following QI/PI methodology. Residency sponsored QI/PI projects will be mentored by faculty members who have earned the A3 Yellow Belt. Throughout the year, residents will participate in PI sessions where they will have the opportunity to meet and work on their projects, as well as learn about the PI/QI concepts related to each of the steps of the A3 methodology. Residents will give a mid-year and end-of-year PI Project update to the department and receive feedback on their projects.
• The Quality Improvement/Process Improvement curriculum will develop and assess the resident for independent practice of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) #14: Apply public health principles and quality improvement methods to improve care and safety for populations, communities, and systems. Leadership and initiative in QI/PI projects can contribute to the ARM Longitudinal Curriculum (see RESEARCH).
• Recent Resident PI/QI Team Projects include the following topics:
  • WIC Enrollment Improvement
  • Primary Care Manager Follow-Up after inpatient admissions
  • Patient Education Resource Availability
  • Newborn Nursery Blood Glucose Protocol Adherence
  • MHS GENESIS Patient Portal Usage

Please see Military Unique Curriculum, Required Courses, Leadership Curriculum sections.

• INOVA Fairfax Hospital for Children: Rotations in ED, NICU, PICU (PGY2, PGY3)
• Children’s National Medical Center:  Rotations in ED, Ward, NICU, PICU (PGY1, 2, 3)
• United States Naval Academy Sports Medicine Rotation (PGY1)
• White Oak Medical Center: Newborn Nursery Rotation (PGY1)
• Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base:  Pre-Attending Outpatient Rotation (PGY3)
• Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Liberty: Pre-Attending Newborn Nursery Rotation (PGY3) - Option 1
• Blanchfield Army Hospital at Fort Campbell: Pre-Attending Newborn Nursery Rotation (PGY3) - Option 2

Fourth-year USUHS and Health Professions Scholarship Programs (HPSP) students interested in elective rotations in Pediatrics at the WRNMMC should contact us to schedule a rotation or a visit.

• Students interviewing for our program should plan rotations in the July-October time block. Regardless of the selected rotation, students will have an opportunity to work and observe the full-scope of our program.
• Requests are accepted on the 1st Monday of December for the upcoming academic year. Requests are honored in the order in which they were received. Inpatient rotations typically last four weeks with both day and night shifts, while outpatient and elective rotations can be split into 2-week increments.
• Requests are made by contacting the program coordinator with the following information:
  • Rank and Name
  • Email and phone number
  • Branch of Service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Health Service)
  • Name of Medical School
  • Your expected year of graduation
  • Your planned specialty after medical school (preference for rotations from July to October is given to those applying for pediatrics)
  • Whether you will be traveling to DC on military orders or not
  • Requested dates of the rotation (be sure to include the year)
  • A ranked order of your rotation preferences (see below)

MS-IV Rotations:

• Adolescent Medicine
• Ambulatory Pediatrics
• Inpatient Sub-internship (includes PICU)
• NICU Sub-internship
• Newborn Nursery
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Pediatric Genetics
• Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Pediatric Nephrology
• Pediatric Neurology
• Pediatric Pulmonology

All USU and HPSP medical students interested and applying for Pediatrics are eligible to interview.

For those rotating at Walter Reed

• Interviews will take place during your rotation and will be scheduled by the Program Coordinator
• Separate interviews will take place with the Program Director, Department Chief, and another faculty member typically from the same branch.
• The Chief Resident will meet with you at some time during your rotation to get to know you better and answer any questions you may have about Walter Reed and applying in general.

For those doing a Day Trip or One Week Rotation

• Interviews will take place during your visit and will be scheduled by Program Coordinator
• Separate interviews will take place with the Program Director and another faculty member typically from the same branch
• Plan for lunch with Department Chief as schedule permits
• Chief Resident will give information session and tour

For those who are Interviewing remotely

• Interviews can be scheduled anytime during the interview season, and will be scheduled by the Program Coordinator
• Interview directly with Program Director, typically on GoogleMeet

Recommended Uniform

• Air Force: Service Dress Blues
• Army: Service Uniform (ASU or AGSU/ Army Greens)
• Navy: Service Dress White (summer) or Service Dress Blue
• Applicants not on orders or without prior officer training (i.e. BOLC, ODS, COT) may wear civilian professional attire for their interviews.

Program graduates take the American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Exam. This exam is offered annually. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take the board certification exam in mid-October following graduation. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, graduates must complete all prerequisites required by the American Board of Pediatrics by October 1st of that year. Additional information is included on the ABP website. 

From bedside teaching, presenting morning report cases, precepting in clinic, and teaching at the Uniformed Services University, our residents have a plethora of opportunities to hone their teaching skills throughout residency. Our Teaching Elective, available to Senior Residents, is led by internationally renowned pediatric educators.

All Residents:

• Morning report case presentations
• Medical student clerkship teaching
• M&M presentations
• Chalk talks
• End-of-rotation presentations

Teaching Opportunities by Year:

• PGY-1: Journal Club presentation
• PGY2: Teaching Elective, Ward Senior, Sim/Skills teaching
• PGY3: Clinicopathologic case (CPC) presentation, Clinic precepting, Ward "pre-attending," SIM/Skills teaching, Teaching Elective

Because we are co-located with the Uniformed Services University, there are multiple opportunities for our interns and residents to facilitate pre-clerkship, clerkship, and post-clerkship educational sessions. Here is a sampling of USU Educational Opportunities in which our residents have participated:

Pre-Clerkship

• Reflective Practice: Facilitate small group sessions with pre-reading and grading of student essays spread across the year. Topics include obesity, sexuality, racism, mistakes, etc.
• Introduction to Clinical Reasoning (ICR):  Small group sessions focused on a specific topic in the context of clinical cases.
  • Growth: normal and abnormal growth patterns in childhood
  • Pediatric Issues: common pediatric presentations (febrile infant, fussy toddler, etc.)
  • Neonatal Transitions: common clinical presentations in the neonate transitioning from the intrauterine to extrauterine environments
  • Adolescent Psychosocial Interview: Facilitate a debrief discussion following a modeled/role-play of the HEADSSS exam in small groups with local high schoolers.

Clerkship

• Clerkship Round Robin: Teach USU students who are in their POET (progress testing, orientation, education, training) week. Designed for USU students who have their upcoming Peds rotation in the subsequent 3 months. Students practice by going through cases/skills. Faculty/residents serve as observers and give feedback for these cases.

Post-Clerkship

• Transitions to Care: Lead a small group discussion on Transitions of Care/Patient Handoffs
• Implementing a Management Plan: Precept a MS-IV small group session on "how to implement a management plan" and provide students an opportunity to discuss and practice some basic management skills using a case format.

The ACGME requires General Pediatricians to cover the inpatient, outpatient, and newborn nursery services, and then specifically lists a faculty member is required from the following subspecialties:

• Adolescent medicine
• Developmental-behavioral pediatrics
• Neonatal-perinatal medicine (NICU)
• Pediatric critical care medicine (PICU)
• Pediatric emergency medicine
• "Subspecialists from five other distinct pediatric medical disciplines”

In addition to these required faculty, as the largest military tertiary medical center and only tri-service pediatrics residency program, we boast pediatric specialists in all the following areas:

• Child Abuse Pediatrics
• Pediatric Cardiology
• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Pediatric Infectious Diseases
• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Pediatric Rheumatology

Finally, we have multidisciplinary collaborations with other departments at Walter Reed to ensure a full-scope of care for medically complex pediatric patients:

• Pediatric Anesthesia
• Pediatric ENT
• Pediatric Neurosurgery
• Pediatric Radiology
• Pediatric Surgery
• Pediatric Urology

• The NCC Peds Residency Program has a "two-tiered" advising program: At the beginning of intern year, every resident is assigned both an Academic Advisor and a Military Advisor.
• The Army, Navy, and AF Military Advisors are assigned to a larger cohort of residents and are responsible for leading our MMOC sessions (see Leadership Curriculum) and helping to prepare military training reports (e.g. OERs, FITREPs, Air Force Training Reports).
• The Academic Advisor serves in the more traditional role of reviewing rotation performance, tracking academic requirements (e.g. scholarly activity, PI/QI), and providing career mentorship (e.g. fellowship preparation). In addition, the Academic Advisor serves as a resident advocate, presenting a summary of their residents’ overall performance at a monthly Education Meeting and contributing to the Clinical Competency Committee’s assessment.
• Beyond our two-tiered advising program, residents regularly identify mentors among our General Pediatrics and Subspecialty Faculty, as well as the fellows in our 4 fellowship programs, whose interests and experiences align with their own. Residency Leadership—to include the SOCR Committee—are poised to help residents identify additional mentors, aside from their assigned advisors.

Our resident-led Wellness Committee is focused on maintaining a healthy work-life integration. Our goal is to offer support, education, and organize fun activities, both in and outside the work environment for our residents. We aim to address 4 different domains of wellness with each activity (physical, emotional/spiritual, social, and financial). Here are some examples of activities our committee has led:

Physical

• Walks, basketball, kickball, indoor bowling
• Cooking/nutrition classes
• Wellness competitions

Emotional/Spiritual

• Therapy dogs (Puppies & Pancakes)
• Debriefs
• Mindfulness
• Yoga
• Volunteer activities
• Resilience/stress reduction techniques

Social

• Holiday celebrations
• Outings
• Board games, puzzles, Pictionary
• Scavenger hunts
• Decorate your desk day
• Trivia

Financial

• Budgeting
• Military specific financial advice
• Retirement planning

In addition to the activities organized by our Wellness Committee, the Residency Leadership ensures a schedule built to accommodate a positive work-life balance. For example, the call schedule (including one call-free block), leave policy, and ARM half-days are all initiatives to ensure maximal flexibility for personal needs, regardless of your rotation.

Finally, recognizing that residency can be challenging, we widely publicize a table of wellness resources to include behavioral health clinics, chaplain services, GME Peer Support Program, and Military and Family Life Counselors.