About the program

Mission

The University of Wisconsin Pediatrics Residency Program prepares pediatrician leaders who provide exceptional care to patients and families, who advocate for the health of children, and who engage in lifelong learning and service. Whether your goal is to practice general or subspecialty pediatrics in academic, public health, or private practice settings, we’ll provide you with outstanding training to prepare you for a successful career.

What do you want our members to know about your program?

Salary in the

75th

percentile across the country

Our program offers a robust educational experience with highly-dedicated faculty in a beautiful city. Unique features of the program include:

Training time split between our free-standing children’s hospital on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus and a nearby private hospital that is the largest birthing center in the state
The CORE Mentor Program, which pairs all interns with a faculty member who provides traditional mentoring as well as bi-annual direct observation and coaching sessions throughout all three years of residency
Education for CHANGE, a longitudinal social justice curriculum that includes formal conference teaching and self-directed learning
Over 20 weeks (~4 and a half months) of true elective time (i.e, trainees select which rotations they would like to do rather than just choosing the order in which they do a set list of rotations) over the course of residency
An optional Global Health Track that includes 2 weeks of dedicated multidisciplinary teaching and simulation each year, culminating in a third-year away rotation abroad
Salary in the 75th percentile of all training institutions across the country

Commitment to diversity

The Centennial Scholars/Centennial Clinicians Program is a university initiative designed to support departments in hiring and developing diverse faculty from groups who experience health disparities in Wisconsin. The program encourages and facilitates the development of a research and educational network of faculty members across the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus for each scholar. When a faculty member joins the program, the department receives $210,000 in financial support meant to enhance the department’s ability to recruit and hire faculty from groups who are considered URM.

23%

of residents identify as BIPOC

Commitment to our BIPOC residents

The University of Wisconsin hosts numerous affinity group gatherings for individuals of various marginalized identities in order to build community. The Department of Pediatrics also has an internal, faculty-and staff-led BIPOC Affinity Group. Similarly, UW Health hosts employee-led Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), including a new group specifically for BIPOC Residents and Fellows. Because trainees in our program have dual appointments, they have access to resources both from UW Health and the greater UW-Madison community.

Funding for URM faculty and research projects

Caring for diverse patient populations

With sizable Latinx and Hmong communities both in Madison proper and throughout the areas we serve, residents train in providing care for non-English speaking patients and families throughout residency.

Residents also complete the Community, Advocacy, and Ambulatory Experience (CPAAX) rotation longitudinally as a PGY-1 and PGY-3. CPAAX includes spending time at a federally-qualified health care center, which serves a large non-English-speaking population. This site is an option for Continuity Clinic as well, and past residents rotating there have pursued additional training in medical Spanish.

Special population clinics

Access Community Health Center: Optional Continuity Clinic site with a sizable Spanish-speaking patient population and Spanish-speaking preceptor.

PATH Clinic for Pediatric Gender Identity: Multidisciplinary clinic offering gender identity care. Residents rotate at the PATH clinic during Adolescent Medicine and Endocrinology rotations.

Opportunities for research

The PUBLISH Pathway is a longitudinal pathway (separate from the Physician Scientist Training Program, or PSTP, track) for residents who would like to strengthen their research skills and develop their expertise in scholarly work. PUBLISH residents are paired with a dedicated mentor with whom they work closely on a defined research project within the mentor’s scope of expertise.

All residents in our program are required to complete a scholarly project and to present at our annual departmental Research Week at least once during their training.

Our program offers professional funds that may be used for abstract submissions, as well as funds for conference travel. The department also sponsors a grant specifically for trainee research.

Residents may also take a Research Elective. They can use this time to work on their required scholarly project or to pursue other research.

Around ¾ of our residents pursue specialized training in one of our program pathways: PUBLISH (Research), Primary Care, Global Health, and/or Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. Incoming interns may apply to one or two of these pathways just after the Match. Many of the learning opportunities in the pathways are open to all residents regardless of formal membership.

Because all trainees must meet specific rotational requirements set out by the ACGME and ABP, residents cannot participate in more than two pathways. For the same reason, a resident may also have to choose between, for example, a Global Health away rotation and a Rural Health experience. Such conflicts are rare, however.

Pathway participation does not require additional funding apart from Global Health away rotations, for which the department offers a travel stipend. Professional funds can be used as well.

Other specialized elective opportunities, such as Rural Health, are grant-funded.

Wellness

Dr. Heidi Kloster leads our program’s Well-Being Committee and oversees our well-being curriculum. Teaching on well-being topics occurs during Intern Orientation and class professional development half-days (held twice every year).

Each class is given dedicated time off for program-funded retreats each year.

Wellness resources include our institutional peer support program and Employee Assistance Program (EPA).

Residents have several avenues for bringing their concerns to the program, and our method of addressing them depends on how they come to us. Residents can share concerns with the Program Director or Chief Residents directly at any time, but more formal avenues include:

-Resident Council: Confidential resident-led meetings (quarterly or twice yearly, depending on residents’ preferences) during which concerns are discussed and outlined, in written form, for program leadership. Leadership responds to all outlined concerns and provides a plan for improvement.

-Pizza with the Program: Monthly lunch sessions (held by class) during which residents can grab a slice of pizza and chat with program leadership about anything, including what’s going well with the program and what could use some work.

-Anonymous feedback form: An online form residents can use. The form can be directed to the Chief Residents, Program Director, Department Chair, or any combination of those. Concerns received via this form are addressed in the method deemed appropriate by the person submitting it.

-Internal program survey: Annual anonymous survey of residents that collects both quantitative and qualitative feedback.

-ACGME Resident Survey: Annual anonymous survey of residents that reports aggregated, non-specific, quantitative data to the program.

Progress on major program initiatives is tracked on an online dashboard visible to all trainees.

What support does your residency offer to residents with families/children?

Our institution offers up to 6 weeks of paid parental leave, and our program offers a Caregiver Elective. The Caregiver Elective is a 4-week (or fewer, depending on the trainee’s preferences and needs) rotation that provides an educational curriculum in a primarily home-based setting for learners caring for a new child or an ill family member.

Mentorship

While most residents in our program identify their own mentors organically during the course of training, they are also assigned one through the CORE Mentor Program at the beginning of intern year. The CORE Mentor Program provides traditional mentoring as well as bi-annual direct observation and coaching sessions throughout all three years of residency.

Because we use a traditional Continuity Clinic model, residents work with the same preceptor longitudinally over their training. Residents see their preceptors frequently, allowing this professional relationship to evolve into one of continuous, lifelong mentorship.

Thank you to our Bronze Sponsor

Want more information?

We encourage interested applicants looking to speak with a current resident to reach out to our Chief Residents (chiefresidents@pediatrics.wisc.edu), who can put them in contact with someone based on specific interests or questions.