At the end of their residency, UAB Pediatric residents go into a variety of career choices extending throughout global health, subspecialty fellowships, and general pediatrics private practice. Since 2008, our residents continue to be split almost exactly halfway between entering careers in primary care / general pediatrics and subspecialty fellowships. They have pursued these careers all over the United States as well as Africa and Ireland.
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Letter from the Director
Dear UAB Pediatric Residency Alumni,
Michele Holloway Nichols, M.D.
Director, Pediatric Residency ProgramTime seems to go by faster and faster as we welcome each new class at the Vulcan, go on intern retreat, dress up for Recruiting Kickoff (interviewing over 260 applicants for Pediatrics virtually), congratulate residents on their fellowship match, celebrate the holidays with everyone’s favorite event (the Holiday Party), announce our new residents at Match Day, gather together at spring class retreats, eat hot dogs and cheer on the Barons, and bring our families in to congratulate our residents at the Graduation Banquet. We now recruit 26 categorical Pediatric Residents, 4 Medicine Pediatric Residents, 2 Child Neurology Residents, and 1 Pediatric Genetics resident to join our program each year.What has changed since you were a resident at UAB and Children’s of Alabama? A lot has changed and truly little has changed. We have no more 24-hour calls, and now we have “nocturnal animals” taking night call (Red Fox, Moles, Blue Chinchilla, and Purple Puma). We have 18 subspecialty programs with over 70 Pediatric Fellows. We have more of a General Pediatrics focus, a new Chairman Yung Lau (2025), and now a 12th floor PICU in the Benjamin Russell building – shared by Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Hospital Medicine. While this is still a work in progress, we believe this will provide our patients with the best, safest, and most compassionate care. We have a highly engaged Palliative team, Rehabilitation team, Neonatal Neurology team, and Pediatric Hospital Medicine Complex Care team. We host four Scholars programs including our Health Equities Scholars, PRIME Scholars (Pediatric Residents Interested in Medical Education), Pediatric Underserved Global Health Scholars (PUGH), and our McDonald Scholars which offers the opportunity to experience pediatrics in rural and underserved areas of our state.
What has not changed is the caliber of residents, the dedication to our patients, the passion for what we do, and the rich, positive, and fun learning environment. We are still graduating pediatricians who we believe are the best of the best. We are grateful for our patients – the best teachers. We are still a high volume program with residents caring for patients with incredible pathology. We are forever indebted to people who have served as our Chairmen through the years who have continually stood beside us, motivated us to be better, and encouraged us to raise the bar. We are always thankful for our faculty, our Pediatric Residency Assistant and Associate Program leaders, our Program Manager and Coordinators/ Education Administrators, and Children’s of Alabama.
If any of you happened to see the World Cup 2026 “Half-time”, it was a mixture of the Muppets, BTS (South Korean boy band), Madonna, Shakira and children of Uganda, Ted Lasso, and Justin Bieber (singing “Everything Hallelujah”). I was in awe…the lights, the music, the dancing, and the stories behind how these people got where they are. It was so amazing to see these people, with so many different talents and life perspectives, come together to captivate audiences. To me, this is not unlike the residents we recruit each year. They are brought together by a common passion – to serve the children. These residents are talented, hold different perspectives on life, sparkle in different ways, and find their own stage to perform at the highest level. And we, the faculty, sit in the stands – coaching a little, offering guidance, being present for our learners and our patients, and cheering them on.
We know you are out there in the world, making a difference. We are so grateful to call you “ours” – part of the UAB Pediatric Family! Please keep us updated on you. What an honor it has been to work with so many of you through the years. We will always be the privileged people - pediatricians who walk into our patients’ lives every day!
Michele Holloway Nichols, M.D.
Director, Pediatric Residency Program - Where Our Residents Go