Pediatric subinternship

Geisinger offers a four-week pediatric sub internship. Janet Weis Children’s Hospital is the pediatric care leader throughout central and northeastern Pennsylvania. The hospital has 36 general medicine/surgery beds (18 for patients of ages 2 weeks – 7 years and another 18 for 8-21 year-olds), 22 newborn/maternal rooms, and 12 pediatric critical care and 38 neonatal intensive care beds.

The division of pediatrics at the children’s hospital annually manages an average of 2,000 general medical/surgical cases, 1,600 newborn deliveries, 580 NICU and 400 PICU admissions, 20,000 general outpatient pediatric visits, and 30,000 pediatric subspecialty outpatient visits. We provide comprehensive pediatric care that includes pediatric gastroenterology, pediatric hematology and oncology, pediatric cardiology, pediatric infectious disease, pediatric endocrinology and pediatric pulmonology.

Medical students are integrated into our services by actively participating in the daily care of our patients. Medical students are expected to:

• Round on patients daily, including pre-rounding in the mornings and participating during teaching rounds with staff physicians
• Proficiently document history and physical examinations and progress notes
• Write orders in our electronic medical record
• Participate in decision making, including discussion of the differential diagnosis, diagnostic work up and management plan
• Perform admissions and discharges
• Take in-house overnight call every fifth night

Goals & objectives

The overall educational goal of the pediatric sub internship is to expose fourth-year medical students to what is expected of a first-year resident and, by doing so, to help prepare them in acquiring the clinical competence required to enter the next level of their training:

• To further develop the organizational and time management skills needed during residency
• To be able to perform a complete, age-appropriate history and physical exam and develop a brief assessment and system-based plan
• Acquire advance skills in interviewing and counseling for a child and family
• Observe and, when appropriate, perform relevant inpatient procedures
• Develop more in-depth knowledge of common clinical illnesses of inpatient pediatrics
• Learn the basics of assessing and stabilizing ill children
• Formulate a sound assessment and management plan for common inpatient diagnosis