Neonatal Fellowship Brochure

Fellowship Information

Prerequisites

  • 3 years or more of general pediatric residency training
  • letters of recommendation from:
    • Director of residency training program
    • Two other faculty members


Format

  • 3 or 4 year program
  • program is accredited by the ACGME in Neonatal/Perinatal Medicine, and prepares fellows for an academic career in Neonatal Medicine


Four Days OldResponsibilities

Clinical Months : assume an active role in the supervision and teaching of house staff, medical students and nursing staff in the NICU; perform clinical procedures and attend high-risk deliveries when special expertise is required, organize and participate in neonatal and perinatal conferences.

line placementResearch Months : pursue self-selected research project(s) with active guidance from neonatology and basic science faculty.

Night Call : taken at home and shared with other neonatology fellows.

Transport System : organize and dispatch the transport team and participate in particularly complex transports.

Division Meetings: participate in monthly discussions of clinical issues and management of NICU.

Conferences: Journal Club, Morbidity and Mortality, Perinatalogy and Genetics, Neonatal Physiology, Research, and Weekly Morning Report with Residents.

Facilities and Resources

Clinic

Follow-up Clinic: evaluate the medical and developmental progress of babies discharged from the intermediate and intensive care nurseries.

  • 600 bed teaching hospital, which serves as the regional perinatal center for northwest Virginia.
  • 450 (approximately) admissions per year to the 46-bed NICU with about 50% of those babies referred from surrounding rural community hospitals.
  • ECMO, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery
  • Full range of pediatric subspecialty resources, with the University of Virginia being the only tertiary perinatal care center for all of western Virginia.
  • Sophisticated transport system serving northwest Virginia via a specially designed and equipped van and southwest Virginia via a comparable air transport system.
  • Well-organized and skilled nursing staff utilizing primary nursing to facilitate coordination of patient care.
  • Neonatology Follow-up Clinic with active participation by pediatric physical therapist, developmentalists, and social workers.
  • Computer data collection and retrieval systems for information regarding neonatal transport, in-patient therapy, serial developmental assessments, and research studies.
  • Clinical research facilities located within the NICU and laboratory research facilities close to the NICU.


Research

After being exposed to several months of an assigned area of basic research, fellows are encouraged to pursue research activities of their own choosing. Established relationships with Basic Science faculty and laboratories provide a wide spectrum of opportunities. Current research activities of the neonatology division members include investigation of:

Basic Sciences:

  • Gastrointestinal Ontogeny and Mucosal Maturation
  • Hypothermia and the Immune System 
  • Pathogenesis of Fungal infections
  • Nitrosylation, pH and chronic lung disease
  • Hypoxic-ischemic brain injury

Clinical Studies:

  • Heart Rate Variability and Infection
  • Nitrosylation and pH in preterm infant lungs
  • B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) predicting Ductal closure after indomethacin
  • Laryngeal Mask Airway (LMA) for Surfactant therapy
  • Fungal and Bacterial Prophylaxis in preterm infants
  • Probiotics 
  • Continous low suction peritoneal drainage for bowel perforation
  • Design and evaluation of perinatal outreach education

Perinatalogy:

  • Perinatal ethics


Environment

Charlottesville is a sophisticated and gracious town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The University was founded by Thomas Jefferson, whose lasting impression remains in the beautiful, stately building and a tradition of excellence. Some of the unique community resources include:

  • full range of collegiate sporting events, including superb basketball, lacrosse, polo, football and soccer
  • University film festivals and national/international speakers' series and musical events
  • Local fox hunting and international steeplechase events
  • Several historical plantations, including Monticello, Ash Lawn and Castle Hill

Charlottesville is also conveniently located for a variety of day or weekend trips:

  • 20 miles from the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Mountains (sightseeing, picnicking, hiking, camping and hang gliding)
  • 45 miles from Lake Anna (sailing, canoeing and motor-boating)
  • 110 miles from Colonial Williamsburg
  • 110 miles from Washington, D.C.
  • 150 miles from Virginia Beach resort area, with ready access to the National Seashores of Virginia's eastern shore peninsula and North Carolina's Outer Banks

Neonatology Faculty

Robert Sinkin, MD, MPH
Chief, Division of Neonatology

Josh Attridge, MD
Robert J. Boyle, MD
Karen Fairchild, MD
John Kattwinkel, MD
David Kaufman, MD
Alix Paget-Brown, MD
Santina Zanelli, MD 

Neonatal Fellows

 Corrine Stewart, MD mailto:Stewartcs7yw@virginia.edu

 UVAposters05swanson

Jonathan Swanson, MD jrs3yc@virginia.edu

Martha Naylor, MD  men9z@virginia.edu

Laura Raynor, MD llr2j@virginia.edu
 


For application form, write, call or email:

Robert A. Sinkin, MD, MPH 
ras9q@viginia.edu
Chief, Division of Neonatology

OR

Karen Fairchild, MD
kdf2n@virginia.edu

Neonatal Fellowship Program Directors
Department of Pediatrics
PO Box 800386
University of Virginia Children's Hospital
Charlottesville, VA 22908
phone: 434-924-5428
fax: 434-924-5244

Jane Shannon
Neonatal Fellowship Coordinator
434-243-9377 (Jane's phone)
434-924-5428 (Office)
434-924-2816 (Fax)
ebs6p@virginia.edu