The PL-1 is expected to take full initiative in the workup and management of patients under the guidance of a supervising resident and attending staff physician. Intensive exposure is provided to ill children and to children of normal birth, growth and development. During the first year, inpatient pediatrics is taught at Rady Children's Hospital. The pediatric house officer cares for children with a large variety of pediatric problems, ranging from uncomplicated illnesses to complex diseases with multiple organ involvement.

In the PL-1 year, residents also participate in the stabilization and care of the sick neonate. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at UCSD has a busy delivery service and is a Level lll nursery that receives transports of critically ill babies from around San Diego County. The first year resident also spends one month in the Newborn Nursery at UCSD learning to care for normal newborns and common problems appropriate for a general pediatrician.

The outpatient experience is varied during the first year to expose residents to many facets of ambulatory care including adolescent medicine, general pediatrics and developmental and community pediatrics.

To expose pediatric residents to acute care in ambulatory pediatrics, they will spend a month in the Rady Children's Hospital emergency department. This experience is designed to provide residents with a strong knowledge base in ambulatory medicine.

The Community Pediatrics rotation exposes the resident to the important role pediatricians now play in the community. This includes interacting with local schools and child care centers (both as a consultant and on behalf of patients), advocating for child health issues and collaborating with professionals from other disciplines that also care for children. Given the importance of the border to life in San Diego, residents will work in Mexico learning about health and services in Tijuana.


The PL-2 year builds on the experiences of the first year with emphasis on patient management and triage of the ill child. The PL-2 resident rotates through the inpatient ward at Rady Children's Hospital and experiences increased independence and decision-making. Additionally, the second year resident rotates one month in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Rady Children's Hospital gaining experience evaluating and managing critically-ill children.

The care and stabilization of the neonates continues to be an important part of the PL2 year. The PL2 is the senior resident in the Level II Nursery at Scripps Mercy Hospital.

This nursery experience closely mimics the atmosphere of private practice and enables residents to continue to interact with community pediatricians. The outpatient experience in the second year mixes general pediatrics and subspecialty training. It also offers a one-month experience to learn about behavior and development. The resident continues to have emergency room experience evaluating acutely ill children during the PL2 year.


The PL-3 year provides each resident the opportunity to enhance skills and knowledge in a wide variety of pediatric areas. The senior residents serve as supervisors and teachers to first year residents and medical students. On the inpatient wards at Rady Children's Hospital, they supervise all admissions to the teaching service and train interns and medical students. Morning Report serves as a forum for in-depth discussion about patient management with subspecialists, general pediatricians and community physicians. The role of teacher extends to the outpatient clinic and emergency room as well. The PL3, in close consultation with attending physicians, oversees the care of clinic patients and provides guidance and expertise in general pediatrics.

The emergency room at Children's enhances the senior resident's proficiency in managing acutely ill children. Additional expertise in the care and stabilization of critically ill children is provided through another rotation in the PICU in the third year and by working on the transport team. During the NICU rotation the PL-3 resident serves as a supervising resident to the resident service. The year is rounded out with several elective months to augment each resident's education.

There is one call free rotation each year. During the second and third year residents often use this time to participate in international rotations in Central and South America, Southeast Asia or Africa. When call does occur, it is every fifth night at Rady Children’s Hospital and every fourth night at UCSD, Scripps Mercy Hospital and the Naval Medical Center. There is a sick-call resident for each resident class who does not have overnight call responsibilities. There is one month of vacation in each year throughout training at UCSD.


There are two PL-4 chief residents who serve as instructors in the Department of Pediatrics and as representatives of the chairman of the department. They also act as general pediatric consultants to the residents and to other services.

The chief residents organize teaching conferences at UCSD and Rady Children's Hospital. They also are attending physicians in the outpatient clinic. This year is designed to continue to augment general pediatric knowledge through consultation, research, teaching and patient care.