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June 2006 This edition: Letter From Our Chair Feature Story Message From Our Medical Director Update From Our Administrator Darby Children's Research Institute News Letter From Our Chair L. Lyndon Key, MD Professor and Chairman Department of Pediatrics Dear Faculty, Children's Hospital Staff, and Other Friends, It is very exciting to be coming to the end of another academic year. Graduation has given us a new group of doctors and we celebrate their moving on this year with great pride. This year, the largest group of students to date, have chosen residencies in pediatrics and the top three students in the medical school class are all pursuing careers as pediatricians. As I watched this wonderful group of graduates go out to represent MUSC, I was also gratified that we had attracted an excellent incoming residency class. [read more] Feature Story Well-matched: New pediatric residents join the MUSC team Fourteen new pediatric and combined medicine/pediatric residents come onboard this month, joining the MUSC team in providing the best care for children. "We have residents with a wide variety of pre-medical school experiences, from a large swath of the country," explains George Johnson, MD, director of the pediatric residency program and vice chair for education at MUSC. Seven male residents and five female residents will be joining the pediatric program. "Overall, women make up the majority of pediatric residents," says Dr. Johnson, "Nationwide figures indicate that more than 60 percent of residents are female, so this new group is a little different." Of the two students joining the combined medicine/pediatric program, one is female and one is male. "Three of the new pediatric residents are our own MUSC students." [read more] Message From Our Medical Director J. Philip Saul, MD Medical Director Director, Pediatric Cardiology Residents in training, also known as house staff, are the lifeblood of patient care in an academic medical center, particularly in July when most of them begin their residencies. On the one hand, no one wants to be the first patient treated by a brand new doctor! On the other hand, a patient and their family may never get more attention paid to them than by a new and eager student or trainee. Our institutional leaders, including myself, are acutely aware of the balance that needs to be struck in having trainees participate in patient care. First and foremost, our patients and their families can rest assured that we have developed and enforce extensive safety guidelines for trainee supervision, which are dependant on the experience of the trainee and the complexity of the medical care. Second, prior to trainees independently performing even the most minor procedures, they must satisfactorily demonstrate competence with that procedure. Third, all patient care is directed by an "attending physician" who participates and sees the patient on a daily basis, directly supervises all significant procedures, and documents his or her presence. Finally, in the spirit of the Lewis Blackman bill, all of our physicians have badges that specifically identify their role as a trainee or attending, and an attending physician will always be called at the request of a patient or their guardians. It could be said that "training" is the price we all pay for working or being taken care of in an academic institution; however, in my mind the presence of properly supervised trainees is a win-win for the patients, their families and the medical center because we all work and our patients are cared for in an institution where state-of-the-art care is being developed, practiced and maintained. Update From Our Administrator John Sanders, MHA Administrator MUSC Children's Hospital Welcome Women's Services Starting July 1, the obstetrical areas and their nurseries will become part of the pediatrics family. For many years, Women's Services has provided wonderful care for families expecting a new delivery and for those women with high risk pregnancies; it is the absolute best place for their care. To provide leadership for the Women's Services, a new position has been developed to manage the obstetrical areas and all nurseries. There are currently several candidates being interviewed. In addition to a director for perinatal services, a new clinical director for the Children's Hospital is being recruited. All interviews for that position are complete and a selection is expected very soon. It is a natural progression to bring Women's Services together with the Children's Hospital. This union gives us the opportunity to focus on the well being of women and infants at the time of birth. Welcome Women's Services! Darby Children's Research Institute News Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA Executive Director Darby Children's Research Inst. Inderjit Singh, PhD Scientific Director Darby Children's Research Inst. Summer is the perfect opportunity for medical students to enhance their experiences as future health professionals, teachers and scientists through research positions. These experiences often have a lifelong effect that shapes career choices and professional development. For medical students, summer research positions are a singular opportunity to concentrate on a project that can advance a field of research and enhance the prospects of ultimately matching to the best postgraduate training programs by publishing an abstract or paper. [read more] A special thanks to the following individuals for their efforts in putting together Kids Connection each month. Managing Editor: Bernard L. Maria, MD, MBA Publisher: Jennifer Cherock (Trio Solutions Inc.) and Jessica Munday (Trio Solutions Inc.) Web design: Brian Dadin (Trio Solutions Inc.) Feature Writer: Mary Sue Lawrence, Trio Solutions Inc Contributing Writers: Lyndon Key, Bernard Maria, John Sanders, Phil Saul Inderjit Singh

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