Educational Setting

The pediatric residency program is centered in the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center (CMC), a major referral center for the state of Georgia and South Carolina.   This setting provides for a good balance of locally referred general pediatric problems as well as severe illnesses and complex subspecialty problems from the larger catchment area.

INPATIENT                                                    
The CMC has its own Pediatric emergency room, operating rooms, laboratories, radiology suite, admissions process and parking. Currently there are 115 inpatient beds dedicated to the care of children, teens, and their families. These include a 36 bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a 13 bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and a 14 bed Child/Adolescent Behavioral Health Unit.

In planning the CMC, much time and effort and consideration was given to the needs of the housestaff. On-call rooms are provided in a centralized area on the first floor. Residents each have a private sleep room and share a large lounge area that has computers, television, and a kitchenette. There is convenient access to patient care floors from the call rooms and lounge. A quiet medical library is located on the first floor. For residents on PICU and NICU rotations, there are also dedicated on-call rooms adjacent to the NICU and PICU.

Adequate work space, conference rooms and consultation rooms are provided throughout the facility. Education was given high priority in all of the planning. Laboratory and nursing personnel are available to assist residents with venipuncture and IV placement. MCG has a comprehensive computerized data system.

Computer terminals are accessible in every clinic, unit, and floor, allowing access to the hospital information system for laboratory results, radiology reports, and past medical records.  We continue to work towards computer order entry. A superb support staff of pediatric-trained respiratory, physical, occupational and speech therapists complement our Children’s Medical Center. Our Child Life personnel work with the faculty, residents to help provide education and reassurance for our patients and families.

OUTPATIENT
The Children's Medical Center outpatient facilities at MCG are housed in the Ambulatory Care Clinic building.This clinic facility houses the general pediatrics clinic, adolescent clinic, subspecialty clinics, and the resident continuity clinic.  The housestaff participate in all clinics, either as required rotations or as electives. Attending staff are present for all clinic sessions to ensure an excellent teaching environment.

Palmetto Pediatrics is hub of the outpatient experience for residents, located in nearby Aiken, SC. This clinic provides a smaller and more intimate experience for residents and allows for more one-on-one education with the MCG supervising pediatric attending.  Responsibilities include newborn and level two nurseries, general pediatric inpatients and general pediatric outpatient experience.