{"id":14148,"date":"2026-02-04T09:47:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T17:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhs.lacounty.gov\/harbor-ucla-medical-center\/?page_id=14148"},"modified":"2026-08-31T15:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T22:58:15","slug":"residency-curriculum","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dhs.lacounty.gov\/harbor-ucla-medical-center\/gme\/pediatrics\/residency\/residency-curriculum\/","title":{"rendered":"Curriculum"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Yearly Schedule*<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

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*For residents starting July 1, 2025 and later<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The three-year schedule includes a broad mix of inpatient and outpatient experiences as shown below. Throughout their residency, each trainee has 10 blocks that can be tailored to their individual career goals and interests.<\/p><\/div>\n

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First Year (PL1)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rotation<\/th>\nDay Blocks<\/th>\nNight Blocks<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Pediatric Wards<\/td>\n3.5<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NICU<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Newborn Nursery<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric Emergency Department<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Subspecialty Clinic<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Child Advocacy<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric Mental Health<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ambulatory<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vacation<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Subspecialty Elective<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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Second Year (PL2)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rotation<\/th>\nDay Blocks<\/th>\nNight Blocks<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Pediatric Wards<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PICU<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NICU<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric Emergency Department<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Subspecialty Elective<\/td>\n4.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Development<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Inpatient service, based on career goals<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ambulatory<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vacation<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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Third Year (PL3)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rotation<\/th>\nDay Blocks<\/th>\nNight Blocks<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Pediatric Wards<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PICU<\/td>\n<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
NICU<\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Newborn Nursery<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric Emergency Department<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Subspecialty Elective<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adolescent Medicine<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pediatric Mental Health<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Inpatient service, based on career goals<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n0.5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Vacation<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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Notes:<\/h4>\n

*\u00a0 There are 13 blocks of 28 days each in the schedule for all pediatric residents. There are also longitudinal experiences as follows: PL2: Journal Club; PL3: M&M and Clinicopathological Case Presentation<\/p>\n

** Electives may consist of subspecialty services, (those listed below as well as Pulmonology, Child Abuse, Dermatology, Sports Medicine, and Child Psychiatry), research blocks, individually developed electives, and career-based primary services based on individual career goals\/interests. A minimum of five subspecialty electives are required. Below are links to the subspecialty divisions within the Department of Pediatrics:<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Allergy and Immunology<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Cardiology<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Endocrinology<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Gastroenterology<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Infectious Diseases<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Child Abuse \/ SCAN Team<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Medical Genetics<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Nephrology<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/3″]
Neurology<\/span><\/a><\/div>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]<\/p>\n

Internship: The First Year<\/h2>\n

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During the PL1 year, the intern is exposed to a broad spectrum of general pediatric conditions in a well-supervised, supportive environment. Each intern works closely with a second or third year pediatric resident on the primary care services under the guidance of a faculty member.<\/p>\n

Pediatric Ward Service<\/h4>\n

The pediatric ward service is a 25-bed unit for infants, children and adolescents. Both general pediatric and subspecialty patients are cared for by one of two ward teams, which consist of two interns and one second or third year pediatric resident working under the supervision of a faculty attending. Teams also include third year medical students from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA as well as fourth year students completing sub-internships. Both medical and surgical patients are followed by the pediatric ward team.<\/p>\n

Pediatric Emergency Department<\/h4>\n

The Pediatric Emergency Department rotation allows the intern to evaluate and treat acutely ill infants, children, and adolescents. In addition, since we are a designated Trauma Center for the County of Los Angeles, paramedic transports provide the intern with an opportunity for the assessment of trauma victims and other critically ill patients. Both medical and surgical patients are seen in the Pediatric Emergency Department and admitted to the Pediatric Ward.<\/p>\n

Nursery<\/h4>\n

The nursery rotation occurs in several settings: the normal newborn nursery, the intermediate nursery, and the delivery room. The intern is given the opportunity to resuscitate term and preterm infants under the guidance of a pediatric resident, fellow, or faculty member.<\/p>\n

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit<\/h4>\n

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) rotation exposes the intern to the evaluation and management of critically ill neonates with medical and surgical conditions. The intern is one of two on the NICU team and is supervised by a second or third year pediatric resident, neonatal fellow and a faculty member in the Division of Neonatology. Admissions to the NICU are augmented by transports from the greater Los Angeles area.<\/p>\n

Subspecialty Clinics<\/h4>\n

The subspecialty clinics rotation occurs primarily in the outpatient clinic at Harbor-UCLA and is designed to expose residents to a wide variety of subspecialty services, including Pediatric Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Allergy and Immunology, and Endocrinology.<\/p>\n

Advocacy<\/h4>\n

The child advocacy rotation is designed to introduce the residents to the concept of advocacy and the community resources that the pediatrician can utilize to improve the health of children. Ambulatory clinical experiences occur in the context of elementary school communities, adult learning centers and special education environments.<\/p>\n

Pediatric Mental Health<\/h4>\n

Our mental health experiences is a collaboration of experiences with Child and Adolescent Psychiatry faculty and other Department of Mental Health professionals. The experiences will be through the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Emergency Room, Inpatient consultations and if available, outpatient experiences, as well as clinical experiences at Rancho Los Amigos as available. The goal is to provide an introduction and help the resident be comfortable with the initial screening, diagnosis and management of common pediatric mental health conditions to provide this to their patients in continuity clinic.<\/p>\n

Ambulatory Rotation<\/h4>\n

For the Ambulatory rotation, our residents rotate with The Children\u2019s Clinic serving children and their families in Long Beach, which is a Federally Qualified Health Center. Here the residents\u00a0<\/span>are able to<\/span>\u00a0experience an outpatient clinic setting with a similar population group in a different model of care delivery.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n

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The Second and Third Years<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n

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During their PL2 and PL3 year, residents have increasing patient care responsibilities and serve as supervisors for interns and medical students on primary care services. On subspecialty services, the resident serves as a consultant, evaluating both inpatients as well as outpatients with subspecialty faculty and fellows.<\/p>\n

Pediatric Ward Service<\/h4>\n

As the supervisory resident on the pediatric ward service, the resident is responsible for the initial evaluation, daily management and discharge of all pediatric patients on the team. Working closely with the attending physician as well as the consult services, there are many opportunities to teach interns and medical students about common as well as complex medical and surgical conditions.<\/p>\n

Pediatric Emergency Department<\/h4>\n

As a PL2 and PL3 in the Pediatric Emergency Department, the resident provides oversight and is responsible for the disposition of patients. Interns and medical students present cases to the resident and the attending physician, and the resident assists in developing a treatment plan and contacting pediatric and surgical consult services. All patient transports to the Pediatric ED also are evaluated by the PL2 or PL3 in charge. In addition, pediatric residents work closely with housestaff from Emergency Medicine in the evaluation and stabilization of trauma patients.<\/p>\n

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and Nursery<\/h4>\n

In both the NICU and in the nursery, the resident serves as the team leader and supervises interns from the Departments of Pediatrics and Family Medicine in the care of the critically ill infants, preterm babies and healthy, term neonates. The resident also is responsible for attending and supervising all neonatal resuscitations in the delivery room and in the NICU.<\/p>\n

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit<\/h4>\n

The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a 10-bed unit dedicated to the management of critically ill infants, children, and adolescents. The resident is an integral member of the ICU team which consists of the resident, a pediatric nurse practitioner, a critical care fellow, and a faculty member from\u00a0the Division of Critical Care<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nursery<\/h4>\n

Our third year residents have another rotation in Nursery, this time spending four half-days a week at Kaiser Bellflower Nursery. When not at Kaiser, residents spend time supervising interns and medical students in the care of patients at the Harbor UCLA nursery and with neonatal resuscitation.<\/p>\n

Night Shift<\/h4>\n

Senior residents cover the pediatric ward, neonatal intensive care unit and pediatric intensive care unit on weeknights. The rotations allow the senior residents\u2019 autonomy and time for reading and teaching interns and medical students. Night shift residents are also involved in patient transfers from other hospitals.<\/p>\n

Subspecialty Services<\/h4>\n

Each of the subspecialty services have both inpatient and ambulatory experiences and allows participation in specialized procedures such as bone marrow biopsies.<\/p>\n

Electives<\/h4>\n

The elective rotations give the resident an opportunity to pursue special interests either at Harbor-UCLA or at other affiliated institutions. This time may be spent on a clinical rotation or performing clinical or lab based research.<\/p>\n

Adolescent Medicine<\/h4>\n

The adolescent medicine rotation consists of ambulatory experiences at several different sites, including a college student health service, a school-based clinic, and a hospital-based teen clinic. Residents are given an opportunity to prepare and deliver a conference on a topic of their choice.<\/p>\n

Ambulatory Rotation<\/h4>\n

For the Ambulatory rotation, our residents rotate with The Children\u2019s Clinic Serving Children and Their Families in Long Beach, which is a Federally Qualified Health Center. Here the residents are able to experience an outpatient clinic setting with a similar population group in a different model of care delivery.<\/p>\n

Clinicopathological Conference<\/h4>\n

The Clinicopathological Conference (CPC) is a long-standing tradition of the pediatric residency program. Each PL3 receives a clinical case and prepares a thorough evaluation and assessment of the condition which is presented in Pediatric Grand Rounds. Starting in 2027, this will be a longitudinal experience.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Clinical Sites<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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The majority of<\/span>\u00a0rotations\u00a0are\u00a0at\u00a0Harbor-UCLA\u2019s main hospital\u00a0and clinics. Residents also\u00a0<\/span>have the opportunity to<\/span>\u00a0rotate at local community partners, including Kaiser, UCLA, and Miller Children\u2019s Hospital<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Call Schedule<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Interns<\/h4>\n

In the PL-1 year, interns have a shift system for the first 9 blocks of the year. The shift system consists of long or short days and night shifts or rotating shifts (ie in the Peds ED). Interns have dedicated night blocks, lasting 1-2 weeks depending on the rotation, to cover the inpatient Ward, NICU, and Nursery. For blocks 10-13, towards the end of the academic year, interns on the inpatient rotations do take approximately one 24-hour in-house call per 2 -week block on the weekends. There is a jeopardy system (back-up call) in case of emergencies.<\/p>\n

Senior Residents<\/h4>\n

Second and third year residents have both night shift blocks and in-house 24hr call depending on the rotation as noted below:<\/p>\n