Scholarly Activity

Three women wearing masks, standing side-by-side in front of a presentation.

We believe that engagement in scholarly work is integral to the success of a pediatrician, necessary to advance the field of medicine and provide the best care possible for our patients. All our residents participate in a mentored scholarly project, which can include traditional research, QI, advocacy and/or medical education. Dedicated research time is available to residents, and many residents present and publish their work at local and national venues.

The skills learned in these projects translate to the bedside, as our residents practice evidence-based medicine, teach patients and their families, improve their own practice, and advocate for the health of children.

Academic Environment

A man standing next to a slideshow presentation.

Pediatric faculty members are actively engaged in a variety of scholarship, including QI, advocacy, and both clinical and educational research. Wake Forest School of Medicine recently renewed their Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health to encourage collaborative clinical research. This provides significant support, including statisticians and research coordinators, to enable projects by trainees and junior faculty. Pediatric faculty members have recently received extramural funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Health Resources and Services Administration, and the Duke Endowment, among others, and are excited to include residents in their ongoing projects.

Mental Health

We have partnered with a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist (CAP) to provide a curriculum covering screening, diagnosis, and treatment of common mental health disorders. This is embedded within the continuity clinic curriculum, and the CAP stays on site to precept patients with the residents.

Developmental/Behavioral

DBP is taught both during the block rotation in your intern year and longitudinally in the outpatient clinic. Our DBP specialists come to clinic to teach a curriculum that is embedded in your continuity clinic curriculum and precept patients directly for whom there are developmental or behavioral concerns.

Medical Ethics/Professionalism

This newly-designed curriculum is structured around pediatric cases, allowing residents education in navigating challenging scenarios encountered with our patients and families.

Medical Education

Julie Wood - Pediatric Residency Program CurriculumAlong with a longitudinal “Residents as Teachers” didactic curriculum that teaches the resident to teach, our pediatric residency program has opportunities for upper-level residents to participate in a block rotation that focuses on Medical Education and allows the participant to be the Teaching Resident.

The Teaching Resident does not have clinical duties aside from their weekly continuity clinic; therefore, they can focus on building their teaching portfolio and engaging with multiple levels of learners under the guidance and mentorship of Dr. Julie Wood.

Scholarly projects in medical education are also encouraged; our department of pediatrics has many faculty with expertise in medical education who hold leadership positions in undergraduate and graduate medical education.

Quality and Process Improvement Conference

Led by the residents with faculty mentorship, this multidisciplinary conference reviews recent patient cases, identifies opportunities for improvement in curriculum/training, and addresses systems issues to improve the quality of care in our hospital. Residents learn quality improvement methodology and safety event classification through leading conferences in the PL-2 year.

Journal Club

Residents and faculty participate in journal club once per month during morning report. A PGY-2 resident works with a faculty advisor to lead discussion on a recent journal article. This also includes brief didactics from the faculty advisor on evidence-based medicine.