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The UAB Pediatric Hospital Medicine (PHM) Fellowship Program prepares specialists who will have excellent clinical skills, the ability to perform meaningful scholarship, and the capacity to become leaders in the field of hospital medicine. Our program provides ample clinical experience for fellows to become confident experts in the care of hospitalized children. The Pediatric Hospital Medicine Core Competencies are addressed through structured seminars, clinical experience, and directed study.

Our PHM Fellowship is typically two years. A competitive salary and fringe benefit package is provided; salaries for physician fellows at UAB are based on year of postgraduate training and are the same across all departments. PHM fellows work with 20 academic, UAB Department of Pediatrics faculty members who are pediatric hospitalists.

We will accept two well-qualified fellows each year. Applicants must complete residency in an ACGME accredited pediatrics or internal medicine/pediatrics program in the U.S. prior to fellowship. Interested candidates are welcome to contact us with any questions regarding our program. Our fellowship supports applications through ERAS

Our Mission and Aims

Our Mission:

The mission of the UAB Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship is to prepare the future leaders in the field of Hospital Medicine as confident experts in the care of the hospitalized child. The Fellowship stresses excellence in Clinical care, Scholarship, and Education.

Program Aims:

Through the Fellowship, graduate fellows are expected to:

  • Develop the clinical and leadership skills to direct care of the hospitalized child comporting with best evidence-based medicine practices while coordinating with subspecialists, health providers, and community partners

  • Actively pursue new discovery and apply this knowledge in the form of novel research and/or qualitative improvement initiatives to their clinical practice

  • Educate patients, families, and the next generation of healthcare providers as active members of the academic community


    • Achieved ACGME accreditation in the first year available

    • Fellowship established in 2012

    • Two fellows per year for a two-year program (optional third year for advanced degree is available)

    • Practice at Alabama’s only free-standing, quaternary care children’s hospital, Children’s of Alabama

    • See Apply page for important dates and application links

  • Hosp Med Wu Chang

    We are happy that you have decided to consider our Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program to further your training!  When you visit Children's of Alabama, you will find a state-of-the-art, thriving facility that was created with the promotion of children’s health in mind. Our division is comprised of young, enthusiastic faculty, and we collaborate with world-class clinicians and researchers in all of the pediatric subspecialties. Children's of Alabama fosters an environment for physicians eager to teach and provide high-quality care to their patients.

    Our fellowship program strives to offer fellows a broad exposure to clinical research, quality improvement, and education built on a foundation of clinical expertise to become leaders in the field of Hospital Medicine. Our website provides a general overview of the training program. We extend to you a cordial invitation to meet our faculty and fellows!

    Sincerely,

    chusignature.png

    Chang L. Wu, MD MSCR
    Director, UAB Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program

  • Following a formalized graduated autonomy process with the goal of leading inpatient teams, fellows have approximately 13 weeks of service per year. In-house overnight call is limited to overnight and swing shifts, with no more than 24 hours average per month. Clinical service takes place in Children’s of Alabama, the centerpiece of a health system for children and adolescents that occupies new, state-of-the-art 340 bed inpatient facilities. Children’s of Alabama serves as the regional referral center for Alabama and surrounding states.

    Sample Schedule

    Fellowship Year 1

    Block 1

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 2

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 3

    Elective

    Block 4

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 5

    Research

    Block 6

    Elective

    Block 7

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 8

    Elective

    Block 9

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 10

    Elective

    Block 11

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 12

    Elective

    Block 13

    Procedural Sedation

    100% Outpatient

    Fellowship Year 2

    Block 1

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 2

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 3

    Elective

    Block 4

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 5

    Elective

    Block 6

    Elective

    Block 7

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 8

    Elective

    Block 9

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 10

    Elective

    Block 11

    Elective

    Block 12

    Wards/Research

    50% Research

    Block 13

    Newborn Nursery

    Vacation

    Fellows have 3 weeks vacation per year. Vacation may be taken during elective, procedural sedation and newborn nursery rotations.

    Elective Options

    Anesthesiology

    Infectious Disease

    Simulation

    Surgery

    Cardiology

    Lactation

    Nutrition

    Rehabilitation Medicine

    Emergency Medicine

    Neonatal Intensive Care

    Palliative Care

    Research

    Global Health

    Neurology

    Pediatric Intensive Care

    Rheumatology

    Click here for PDF of the schedule

  • Fellows devote time and effort to academic interests including research projects focused on quality improvement, clinical problems, or medical education.  Our faculty have developed a core lecture series to give fellows a working knowledge of health information systems, study design, and basic biostatistics, among other topics.  All PHM fellows will complete a research project that will contribute to the field of pediatric hospital medicine in its broadest sense, as well as the opportunity to build a disease-specific clinical pathway to be used at Children’s of Alabama.

    Clinical Education 
    • Weekly lectures on hospital medicine core competencies

    • Monthly group discussions of current literature

    • Monthly combined fellowship series shared with UAB Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Pediatric Critical Care fellows on shared clinical topics

    • Monthly core fellowship series for all pediatric fellows on career development topics

    • Weekly clinical case conference on clinical conundrums and management

    • Quarterly Root Cause Analysis conferences led by fellows and mentored by faculty

    Teaching Education
    • Opportunities to develop an educational module for housestaff (recent examples: breastfeeding, global health topics, physical examination skills)

    • Opportunities to create educational sessions/series for residents and medical students

    • Opportunities to lead MS1 Learning Communities

    • Training to use UAB’s state-of-the-art simulation laboratory as an educational or research tool

    • Workshops on giving feedback, teaching adult learners at different stages

    Scholarly Education
    • Introduction to biostatistics and analytic methodologies

    • Institute for Healthcare Improvement quality improvement course with practical applications

    • Workshops on academic presentations (oral and poster presentations) and manuscript preparation

    • Introduction to grant writing

    • Mentored Abstract Review opportunities


    Applied Research
    • All fellows are expected and mentored to have a primary scholarship project (research, quality improvement, advocacy, etc.) worthy of publication at the conclusion of fellowship

    • Presentation of scholarly abstract at a national conference (Pediatric Academic Societies, Pediatric Hospital Medicine, AAP National Conference and Exhibition, etc.)

    • Develop a clinical pathway or quality improvement project

    Fellow Publications

    Cantu RM, Pruitt CM, Samuy N, Wu CL. Predictors of emergency department discharge following pediatric drowning. Am J Emerg Med. 2018 Mar;36(3):446-449. doi: 10.1016/j.ajem.2017.08.057. Epub 2017 Sep 4. PMID: 28899637.

    Molina AL, Molina Y, Walley SC, Wu CL, Zhu A, Oates GR. Residential instability, neighborhood deprivation, and pediatric asthma outcomes. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2020 Jun;55(6):1340-1348. doi: 10.1002/ppul.24771. Epub 2020 Apr 10. PMID: 32275809.

    Molina AL, Magruder TG, Aban IB, Ward L, Narayanan S, Walley SC. Predictors of Hospital Reuse Among Publicly Insured Children Hospitalized for Status Asthmaticus. Hosp Pediatr. 2019 Mar;9(3):194-200. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2017-0239. Epub 2019 Feb 4. PMID: 30718385.

    Schmit EO, Wu CL, Khodadadi RB, Herrera LN, Williams WL, Estrada CA. What Defines an Honors Student? Survey of Pediatric and Internal Medicine Faculty Perspectives. South Med J. 2019 Aug;112(8):450-454. doi: 10.14423/SMJ.0000000000001005. PMID: 31375843.

    - Herrera LN, Khodadadi R, Schmit E, Willig J, Hoellein A, Knudson C, Law K, Mingioni N, Walsh K, Estrada C, Williams W. Which Student Characteristics Are Most Important in Determining Clinical Honors in Clerkships? A Teaching Ward Attending Perspective. Acad Med. 2019 Oct;94(10):1581-1588. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000002836. PMID: 31192796.

    Wagner LA, Molina AL, Grizzle K, Hofto ME, Nassetta LB, Orr MM, Samuy N, Schmit EO, Smola C, Harrington KF, Walley SC. Quality Improvement Project to Improve Screening for Tobacco Use in Adolescent Inpatients at a Children's Hospital. Children (Basel). 2019 Feb 28;6(3):37. doi: 10.3390/children6030037. PMID: 30823441; PMCID: PMC6463089.

    - Hofto ME, Schmit EO, Sharma M, Samuy N. Acute Appendicitis Associated With Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. Cureus. 2021 Jun 24;13(6):e15893. doi: 10.7759/cureus.15893. PMID: 34336414; PMCID: PMC8312765.

    - Hanna SL, Wu CL, Smola C, Coyne-Beasley T, Orr M, Healy A, Molina AL. Food Insecurity Screening of Hospitalized Patients: A Descriptive Analysis. Hosp Pediatr. 2022 Jun 1;12(6):e196-e200. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2022-006549. PMID: 35546296.

    - Gardner HM, Askenazi DJ, Hoefert JA, Helton A, Wu CL. Acute Kidney Injury Among Children Admitted With Viral Rhabdomyolysis. Hosp Pediatr. 2021 Aug;11(8):878-885. doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2020-005108. PMID: 34301717.

    - Hoefert JA, Molina AL, Gardner HM, Miller KH, Wu CL, Grizzle K. De-escalation of High-flow Respiratory Support for Children Admitted with Bronchiolitis: A Quality Improvement Initiative. Pediatr Qual Saf. 2022 Mar 30;7(2):e534. doi: 10.1097/pq9.0000000000000534. PMID: 35369406; PMCID: PMC8970083.


Why UAB?

We know you have received excellent training throughout your residency. We want to build on that foundation and sharpen those skills to guide you to becoming the next academic leader in PHM. Our breadth in clinical diversity and opportunities for graduated autonomy in leading a healthcare team is unparalleled.

Our Fellowship has a record for success! Our graduates have gone on to become recognized leaders in the field of Pediatric Hospital Medicine with over half of our graduates holding formal leadership positions after their graduation.

UAB named #1 by Forbes as America’s Best Large Employer and #4 for diversity in 2021.

We look forward to meeting you and are excited to see if we can be your next academic home!


Our Team

Program Director
Chang L. Wu, M.D., MSCR

Chang L. Wu, M.D., MSCR

changwu@uabmc.edu

Associate Program Director
Erinn O. Schmit, M.D., M.Ed.

Erinn O. Schmit, M.D., M.Ed.

eschmit@uabmc.edu

Fellow Advocate
Adolfo Molina, M.D., MSHQS

Adolfo Molina, M.D., MSHQS

amolina@uabmc.edu

Program Coordinator
Heather Kirk

Heather Kirk

hkirk@uabmc.edu

For questions about the program, please email phmfellowship@uabmc.edu
For Heather Kirk, please remove previous and replace with her email address hkirk@uabmc.edu