Resident Life

Internship and residency can be a stressful time in one's life. In anticipation of this, there are several resources available for support, discussing problems, or just venting.

• CHIEF RESIDENTS, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATE PROGRAM DIRECTORS
  All of these individuals were residents here and are always available for anything and everything.
  
• JANET AND BOBBIE (residency coordinators)
  They are the best sympathizers in the world and know how to fix most problems quickly and efficiently.

After Residency

Overall, our housestaff complete their training well prepared for any career choice in pediatrics. Following 3 years at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, residents choose to pursue careers in a variety of pediatric fields.  Three Chief Residents are selected each year to serve as junior faculty on the medical staff.  Many residents choose to go into general pediatric practice in the surrounding Los Angeles area or in a variety of locations throughout the United States.  In addition, our graduates pursue many fellowships ranging from Adolescent Medicine through Toxicology. In recent years we have had residents go to the following institutions for a variety of fellowships:

• Boston Children's Hospital
• Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Children's Hospital in Oakland
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
• Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
• Children's Hospital in Seattle
• D.C. Children's Hospital
• Johns Hopkins University
• Sloan-Kettering Memorial Hospital
• Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford
• Texas Children's Hospital
• The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto
• The MIND Institute at UC Davis
• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of California, San Diego
• University of California, San Francisco
• Yale University

Board Exam

Our residents are well prepared for the American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Exam at the end of their residency training. In fact, over the previous eleven years, our immediate graduates have had a 97% pass rate. In addition to all the educational conferences previously described, we conduct a free Board Review Course for our residents towards the end of their PL-3 year of training.

Call Rooms

There are two call room areas for pediatric residents – an intern call room & individual senior resident call rooms. The rooms are furnished with beds, refrigerators, bathroom facilities, workstations with computers, telephones, and general pediatric references.

Communication Meetings

Scheduled every 1-2 months and used to discuss residency program issues. All the residents, chief residents, associate program directors, and program director attend these meetings.

Community Outreach

Interns and residents are truly involved with our local community. In addition to providing medical care to the surrounding neighborhood, our housestaff may give lectures on important health topics to parents and students at a nearby school district, participate in numerous health fairs, give immunizations, and perform high school sports physical exams. During the adolescent rotation there is a large amount of time spent working in free clinics in the neighborhood. In addition, a community clinic elective is offered to residents, which provides exposure to a variety of general pediatric issues in underserved populations. Housestaff may also choose to do additional electives in the community, which may involve direct patient care, child education, and/or research. Finally, many of our residents provide invaluable service to the surrounding community through their efforts while rotating on the advocacy block, and when they conduct a home safety visit for one of their continuity clinic patients during the PL-2 year. 

Computer Resources

The hospital has developed and implemented a clinical information system called KIDS – Knowledge Information and Decision Support. It allows residents to view all their patients’ clinical information on-line. With a wireless network throughout patient care areas, residents are able to access and maintain patient lists, see their patients' vitals, lab results, medication history and progress notes (by all clinicians) on-line and in real time. This creates efficiency for the residents and improves patient care. The hospital has also implemented the Synapse system to allow for film-less retrieval and viewing of radiological studies. The residency program also has a web-portal, which allows residents access to career guidance information, schedules, a learning center, advocacy information, and other useful educational material.

Days Off/Vacation

In general, interns and residents are off on holidays and weekend days that they are not on call. At LAC-USC NICU and Newborn Nursery, teams work together so that each member gets 4-6 days off per block rotation. During the Emergency Department Rotation, residents get 8 days off. During the intern outpatient rotations, all weekends are off (but 1 weekend is sick call).

During intern year, there are 5 weeks of vacation. Four of the five weeks are taken during outpatient rotations and are usually divided into two 2-week blocks. Since interns start one week early, they get their last week of internship off – to total 5 weeks vacation time. Second and third year residents have 4 weeks of vacation during each year. Vacation time is used during “free” elective months, and can be used all at once or split between the 2-3 blocks.

In addition, there are four consecutive days of holiday vacation during the Christmas/New Year's holiday. During this time, half of the residents will work on Christmas and the other half will work on New Year's. Residents are assigned to work an every other night (Q2) call during the 4-day period of the holiday which they do not have vacation. We also observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, & Thanksgiving.

Doctors' Rooms

Each ward has a "Doctors' Room" designated for the ward team. In each room, there are computers for each intern on the team (with KIDS and Internet/Medline access), as well as telephones, pediatric textbooks, a refrigerator, general office/physical exam supplies, couches/cots, radios, chalkboards, etc. The doctors' rooms are the "work rooms" for the inpatient ward teams where daily work, teaching rounds, and discussions with attendings occur.  

Housing/Parking

The hospital owns an apartment building (affectionately called "The Rodney"), which is located one block from the hospital. There are studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom apartments available. Parking is included in a secure lot. While some of the residents choose to live at the Rodney, many live in other parts of Los Angeles (i.e., West Hollywood, Glendale, Los Feliz and near the beaches). The rental rates include free utilities.

Current Monthly Rental Rates are:

• Studios $600.00
• One-Bedroom Apartment $750.00
• Two-Bedroom Apartment $900.00

Insurance

Both health and dental insurance are provided to all residents and their spouses/dependents. Life insurance is also provided for our residents. During orientation several insurance packages are presented and residents can choose which ones they want. Residents can also get personal prescriptions filled at the hospital's pharmacy at 5% above cost.

Intern Retreat

This is a two day/two night excursion to Lake Arrowhead in February attended by all the interns, chief residents, associate program directors, and program director. It is a special time for fun, sun, relaxation and a little introspection.

Meals

All residents receive a meal allowance of approximately $135 - 150 each block rotation that they are on call in the hospital or in the Emergency Department. There are also occasional sponsored lunches at noon conferences. Meals are also provided to residents free of charge while on rotation at LAC-USC and HPMC.

Medical Records

The hospital has an automated digital dictation system. Admission History & Physicals and discharge summaries can be directly entered into the computer or dictated. As in all hospitals, interns and residents are required to keep their medical records up-to-date.

Salary (2010-2011)

• PL-1 Salary:  $47,500
• PL-2 Salary:  $49,900
• PL-3 Salary:  $51,000

Jeopardy Call

Interns are assigned to two weeks of jeopardy call during the year (during their call-free months).  PL-2 residents are assigned to jeopardy call during a call-free elective with jeopardy call every fourth night (a total of seven call nights).  PL-3 residents have jeopardy call during a two-week block that is free of any other clinical respnsibilities (alternating nights).  All residents are relieved of any clinical duties if they are post-call from a jeopardy call overnight shift.

Support Services

Through the hospital's Employee Assistance Program, the hospital retains trained counselors available to help with a variety of issues, including relationship difficulties, family troubles, chemical dependency, work stress, and more. All sessions are completely confidential and free.  

The City 

Situated between snow-topped mountains and some of the world’s finest recreational beaches, Los Angeles is the vibrant hub of Southern California. Its relaxed lifestyle and ideal climate offer a multitude of recreational and cultural activities, ranging from surfing, sailing and deep sea diving, to snow skiing, hiking, mountain bike riding and much more. In fact, Los Angeles is one of the few major metropolitan areas where you can be tanning on the beach one moment and skiing through knee-deep powder a quick, two-hour drive later. And, whether your tastes lean toward modern art, space science or natural history, the city offers a world-class array of museums, art galleries and cultural centers, as well as an exciting roster of college and professional sports events.

After the sun goes down, L.A.’s unparalleled nightlife presents an almost endless array of cutting-edge music, dance and theatrical performances, not to mention one of the most remarkable selections of restaurants to be found in any American city. Then, there are the world-renowned Hollywood Bowl and Greek Theater, both hosting leading names in classical, jazz and pop music under the stars, while the multi-complex Los Angeles County Music Center offers critically acclaimed plays, civic light opera, musicals and symphonic works. As the dynamic center of the nation’s entertainment industry, Los Angeles is also home to celebrated regional and small theaters, television and film productions, behind-the-scenes studio tours and cinema playing everything from current blockbusters to art house classics.