Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship

Schedule and curriculum

The neonatal-perinatal fellowship at Atlantic Health Goryeb Children Hospital supports a call schedule that is designed to meet our fellows' individual academic needs. Typically, we will expect fellows to work approximately one of every six weekend days, and about one of every nine weekdays over the course of their fellowship. The average work week over the course of the fellowship will be about 48 – 50 hours.

A fellow's schedule will consist of 39 x four-week blocks over the course of fellowship, which include:

• Clinical blocks (approximately 15)
  Monday - Friday (8:00am – 4:00pm), except post-call. This block will include four calls over the four weeks - two weekends and two mid-week calls. The average working week during clinical blocks will be approximately 58 hours per week.
• Scholarly activity blocks (approximately 19)
  Limited call schedule, to include four calls per four-week block (three calls mid-week and one weekend). During mid-week call, the first eight hours will be spent on labor and delivery coverage, procedures, or clinical rounds, depending on the fellow's educational priorities. Once fellows are established in their clinical competence and as their scholarly output increases, it is expected that the daytime part of the mid-week calls will be given over to scholarly activity, such that call will start at 4:00pm rather than 8:00am. The average working week during these blocks (scholarly, clinical, and call) will be approximately 52 hours per week.
• Others (approximately five)
  To include orientation, CV ICU rotation, vacations, etc. There will be no call during these blocks.

Additional required experiences

Transport experience

Fellows will participate in neonatal transport throughout training, which will allow fellows to expand on their skills and experience in managing patients that require a higher level of care on transport. Fellows will also be responsible for internal transports within Atlantic Health (e.g. OR and radiology) and transports out of network in support of acuity needs.

Maternal-fetal medicine experience

Fellows will rotate with maternal-fetal medicine at Atlantic Health Morristown and participate in the evaluation and management of high-risk pregnancies during outpatient antepartum maternal-fetal medicine clinic, in ambulatory and inpatient settings, and during labor and delivery. They will be given the opportunity to follow maternal-fetal medicine patients longitudinally. Fellows will build skills in performing diagnostic ultrasound (e.g. monitoring fetal growth and development, recognizing cardiac structures, and identifying fetal abnormalities) and ultrasound interpretation. They will learn to counsel women with high-risk pregnancies, observe and recommend fetal interventions, and integrate genetic counseling into maternal-fetal medicine patient care.

Cardiac experience

Fellows will attend the perinatal cardiac diagnosis clinics division hosted by pediatric cardiology at Atlantic Health Morristown. These include screening of patients at high risk of cardiac diseases, and the longitudinal follow-up of fetuses with previously identified cardiac malformations. Fellows will also rotate at the Infant Cardiac ICU at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian (CHONY). The Infant Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at CHONY is a state-of-the-art center dedicated solely for infant cardiac care (0 - 3 months). It is the first facility of its kind in the United States.

Neonatal-perinatal medicine conferences

Education

• Physiology Conference (Core Curriculum)
• Weekly, faculty and fellow presentations of physiology lectures[EC2]

• Board Review
• Monthly, fellow presentation of board questions

Clinical

• Neonatal Case Conference
• Monthly, case presentation by service fellow

• Perinatal Conference
• Monthly, case presentation by fellow and/or residents

• Neonatal Radiology Conference
• Quarterly, case presentation by fellow and Peds radiologist

• Neonatal Surgical Conference
• Quarterly, general surgery and surgical subspecialty case presentation by fellow and surgeons

• Morbidity and Mortality Conference - Neonatology
• Quarterly, fellows will present at this conference, which is attended by residents and faculty and focuses on one to two cases selected by the Director of Neonatal Quality and Safety, with emphasis on improvement of patient care.

• Morbidity and Mortality Conference - Pediatrics
• Monthly, case presentation by resident, fellow expected to mentor resident and participate in discussion

• Consensus Conference
• Biannually, presentation of new or revised clinical guideline/policy by fellow and assigned faculty member

Biostatistics & research

• Atlantic Center for Research - Introductory Course
• Annually, fellows attend didactic lectures and participate in discussion

• Introduction to Biostatistics
• Monthly, fellows attend didactic lectures and participate in discussion

• AHS Research Day
• Annually, highlights research completed throughout AHS via posters and oral platform presentations and included a keynote address. Fellows will be encouraged to present their scholarly activity projects.

• AHS Goryeb Children’s Hospital Research Day
• Annually, a half-day conference each spring highlights the research projects completed by Goryeb Children's Hospital's residents/fellows and their faculty mentors

Evidence-based medicine

• Articles of Interest
• Quarterly, fellows participate in discussion and Q&A sessions, presentations are given by a faculty member, who reviews neonatal articles of interest published in the previous three months.

• Journal Club
• Monthly, fellows will present an article they are interested in from the "Articles of Interest" conference. Articles should be presented in more detail and fellows will lead the discussion.

• Evidence-based Neonatal Medicine Article Review
• Monthly, an evidence-based article, published in the last 5 years, will be presented by the resident rotating through the NICU. Fellows will lead the discussion of the article.

Quality improvement

• Quality & Safety Conference - Pediatrics
• Committee, fellows participate in discussions (optional attendance)

• NICU – Quality & Safety
• Quarterly, fellows and faculty present QI updates relevant to the NICU

Simulation

• Neonatal Simulation/Mock Codes
• Quarterly, fellows will participate in mock codes/simulation sessions led by NNPs

• Death and Dying (Breaking Bad News)
• Annually, fellow to participate in intensive curriculum offered by AHS/Goryeb Children’s Hospital

Regional and national conferences

• neoFORUM
• Annually, this conference is sponsored by neonatology and is known for attracting both national and international speakers. It highlights cutting-edge therapies and research in neonatology. Fellows will be expected to present their scholarly activity.

DEI, wellness & bioethics

• Social Determinants of Health, Diversity and Inclusion
• Monthly, fellow to participate in this interactive health series hosted by the Department of Pediatrics that utilizes patient cases to identify and address social determinants of health that can affect patient outcomes and prepares trainees to treat patients from a holistic approach.

• Pediatric Wellness Committee
• Bimonthly, fellows participate in discussion

• Bioethics
• As available, fellows participate in discussions offered by AHS

Neonatal & perinatal fellowship application process

The neonatal-perinatal medicine fellowship at Atlantic Health Goryeb Children’s Hospital participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP #3293332001).

Applications will be accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) exclusively.

How to apply

• Sponsoring institution: Atlantic Health
• Program name: Atlantic Health Goryeb Children’s Hospital Program
• Accreditation: ACGME
• Program number: 3293332001
• Required documents:
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Curriculum vitae
  • USMLE or COMLEX transcript
  • Dean’s letter
  • Transcripts of medical education
  • Personal statement

We accept applications through ERAS and participate in the NRMP match.

Interviews for fellowship positions will be granted by ERAS invitation only after reviewing your completed application. Our interview season typically runs from the first week of August through the end of October.

Where do you train?

NICU at Atlantic Health Morristown

A 45-bed Level III unit, designated as a Regional Perinatal Center, and located at Atlantic Health Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Atlantic Health Morristown. The hospital has a 15-bed pediatric intensive care unit, a dedicated pediatric emergency department, and a comprehensive range of pediatric medical and surgical specialties. Most neonates cared for in the Atlantic Health Morristown NICU are inborn; however, the unit also accepts patients by transport from northern New Jersey and other surrounding areas. In-house coverage is provided in the NICU 24 hours a day by both neonatal advanced practice nurses and neonatal attendings.

Rotation teams

Rotation teams cover daily NICU service. Neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows will round with all three teams during their training.

• Acute team: This consists of one advanced practitioner, a neonatal attending, and two to three residents. This team covers approximately two-thirds of the patients, including all patients in the acute stage of their disease.
• Discharge team: This consists of one advanced practitioner and a neonatal attending. This team covers approximately one-third of the patients, including all patients nearing discharge.
• Procedure team: This consists of one advanced practitioner and a neonatal attending. This team is responsible for covering labor and delivery, procedures (umbilical line placement, PICC inserting, elective reintubations, etc.), and transports.

NICU at Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center

A 15-bed Level III unit designated by the state of New Jersey. The vast majority of patients are inborn, and the NICU can care for any infant born at greater than 28 weeks’ gestation. Patients born at less than 28 weeks’ gestation, those with complex surgical problems, or infants requiring iNO or HFOV are typically transferred to Atlantic Health Morristown. The unit is staffed 24 hours a day by advanced neonatal practitioners. Neonatal attendings round daily and are available on-call 24 hours a day. Fellows will rotate through the Atlantic Health Overlook NICU for one 4-week block in the third year of fellowship. This rotation will give them experience at a lower acuity, community NICU, which is where many neonatal-perinatal medicine fellows will work as attendings.

Goryeb Children's Hospital

An 86,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility located at Atlantic Health Morristown, which was named by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation's Best Hospitals in three specialties and has been listed as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For® by Fortune for the past 14 years. It is a regional referral center and is verified as a Level I Regional Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons and designated a Level II by the state of New Jersey. It serves approximately 1,200 square miles of northwest NJ, the southern tip of New York State and the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.