The Academics of Pediatrics continued
be on call at the hospital the first night of her residency . Dr . Flippin followed a third-year resident and watched her maneuver through several crises and tough procedures , including a lumbar puncture — inserting a needle into the spine to obtain cerebrospinal fluid in order to check for meningitis — on an infant . “ That first night was overwhelming ,” says Dr . Flippin . “ I went home the next morning and cried my eyes out .”
Despite some tough moments , Dr . Flippin found the overall experience rewarding , and still helpful to her in her medical practice today . She learned that the best way to conquer the stresses of being a resident was simply to persevere . “ You just have to do it ,” she says . “ You get put in situations where you know you have to take care of a patient and you just do what you have to do .” Dr . Flippin adds that she could always rely on Scott & White ’ s faculty for guidance . “ I had a lot of support ,” she says . “ I never felt like I was alone .”
Elevating our stature Scott & White ’ s Pediatric Residency Program is experiencing a higher profile and growing reputation . Dr . Acosta says , “ Pediatric specialists here and new ones being recruited are a few reasons why our program is attracting more attention . Combined with the new Children ’ s Hospital , it adds up to a unique opportunity for recent medical school graduates who want to further their training and care for children .” Medical residents are able to obtain a broader education , as they are exposed to a range of cases — both routine and acute care pediatric conditions . “ Good clinical teaching combined with a solid didactic curriculum is great training ground for residents as they prepare for their future in pediatrics ,” she says .
As the Children ’ s Hospital continues to recruit more specialists , additional aspects of pediatric medicine will become available for residents to study . More specialists will also bring further research opportunities to residents . Research is a crucial part of a resident ’ s education ; in fact , each third-year resident is required to participate in a research project .
The Department of Pediatrics now has more than 100 full-time primary care and specialty physicians . The size of that faculty is one of the Pediatric Residency Program ’ s advantages because it ’ s small enough to foster the development of close bonds between residents and these mentors . “ I know each resident and they know each other very well . It makes for a great environment ,” says Dr . Acosta .
This dynamic made a difference to Dr . Flippin . She says , “ Faculty members were excellent to work with and were
“ Good clinical teaching combined with a solid didactic curriculum is great training ground for residents as they prepare for their future in pediatrics .”
— Alisa A . Acosta , MD , MPH readily available to me . They never made me feel like I shouldn ’ t be asking questions or calling for help . They made me feel part of the team .”
Outreach program opportunities Scott & White also offers educational opportunities for medical students at the Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine . In 2010 , Children ’ s Hospital Scott & White pediatrician Catherine McNeal , MD , assistant professor of pediatrics and associate professor of internal medicine , Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine , led an outreach effort to pair families in the rural town of Holland , Texas , with first-year medical students . The program is called HeartAware Reaching Rural Populations . Its intent is to improve screening and diagnosis of risk factors for cardiovascular disease . Although this may not seem relevant to pediatrics , one of the program goals was to improve the future health of rural communities by teaching future physicians about the barriers that people there face when they need to access healthcare , or even the unique challenges they encounter as they try to follow a healthy lifestyle . Therefore , this education transcends a focus on cardiovascular disease and becomes pertinent to the overall health of rural residents and their children , who must travel more than 15 miles to visit a doctor . Many of these families have only one vehicle , and parents often cannot afford to take a day off work to take their child to a physician . “ These barriers seem to be small , but they ’ re actually fairly immense ,” says Dr . McNeal , who also leads the pediatric cardiovascular
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