Pediatrics

The Pediatrics Residency Program at Oakland offers sub-internships to 4th year medical students who have completed their core pediatric clerkship. Sub-internships are available for the inpatient ward, NICU, PICU, and in various pediatric subspecialties.

The Department of Pediatrics at Kaiser Oakland consists of a large primary care and subspecialty outpatient division, an inpatient service with a 25 bed General Pediatric Ward, a 11 bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, a 23 bed Intensive Care Nursery, and a well-baby nursery that cares for approximately 2000 babies per year. Because of the smaller size of our program, faculty are very accessible across departments and sub-interns work with them closely. Our sub-interns will also participate in our Academic Half Day didactics, which is a 4-hour protected didactic session our residents participate in on a weekly basis.

Our emphasis at Kaiser Oakland is on your education and helping medical students and residents grow into superb and compassionate physicians. By the end of your rotation at Kaiser Oakland, we hope you will:

• Improve your history and physical examination skills.
• Improve your skills at forming differential diagnoses and begin to develop your own diagnostic work-up and therapeutic plans.
• Develop the necessary organizational skills to help you function as an intern.
• Expand your pediatric knowledge through clinical practice as well as didactic education through our resident academic half day curriculum.
• Have a rewarding experience in a supportive environment.

Inpatient Sub-internship

The Kaiser Oakland pediatric ward has approximately 1000 admissions each year with an excellent mix of both general and subspecialty pediatrics. The pediatric inpatient service is a teaching team managed by the pediatric residents under the supervision of dedicated hospital-based pediatric faculty. Each ward team consists of 1 senior resident, 2 interns and at times a third-year medical student from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) completing their core pediatrics rotation.

The Sub-intern Role

As part of the inpatient team, you will function, with supervision, as the primary caretaker for 3-4 patients. You will work-up admissions, develop plans, and write histories and physicals, daily notes, and orders. Orders will be reviewed by your supervising residents. In addition, you will have the chance to expand your pediatric knowledge base through directed patient-based learning, bedside teaching, and preparing teaching sessions for the ward team. You will also have opportunities to perform procedures while taking care of your patients.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

The NICU is a 23-bed unit that provides level III+ neonatal care. We are a high-risk obstetric and neonatal referral center with more than 2500 births/year. Our NICU is a regional cooling referral center for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and provides a broad range of medical and surgical services for our patients. Residents and medical students care for neonates under the guidance of neonatologists. The NICU team consists of 2 residents, a nurse practitioner, and a neonatologist.

The Sub-intern Role

As part of the NICU team, you will function, with supervision, as the primary caretaker for 3-4 patients. You will attend deliveries with a supervising resident, on-call pediatrician, or neonatologist and learn skills in neonatal resuscitation. You will help admit patients, develop care plans, and write daily notes and orders, all of which will be reviewed by your supervising resident or neonatologist. There will be opportunities to perform procedures on your patients.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

The PICU is an 11-bed unit that provides intensive care for a blend of general pediatric, subspecialty, and pediatric surgical patients. Residents and medical students care for patients under the guidance of pediatric intensivists. The PICU team consists of 1 or 2 residents, and a pediatric intensivist.

The Sub-intern Role

As part of the PICU team, you will function, with supervision, as the primary caretaker for 2-3 patients. You will help admit patients, develop care plans, and write daily notes and orders. There may also be opportunities to perform procedures on your patients and attend transports.

Subspecialty Electives

We offer elective rotations available in several pediatric subspecialties. These rotations involve a mix of outpatient clinic and inpatient consultations. You will have the opportunity to work individually with faculty pediatrics subspecialists.

How to Apply

After reviewing our general policies please complete the application as follows:

To access the fourth year clerkship application, please use VSLO. Our medical student coordinator will contact you if we are able to offer you a sub-internship.

We offer scholarships

Medical Student Diversity scholarship
Medical students seeking sub-internship experiences at Kaiser Oakland and who are passionate about promoting diversity and eliminating healthcare disparities are encouraged to apply for a Medical Student Diversity Scholarship.

To promote our medical center’s mission to enhance diversity and to help defray the costs of housing, airfare, and other expenses which can make away rotations prohibitive, Kaiser Oakland is offering scholarships of up to $2,000 to senior medical students wishing to pursue fourth-year rotations in Pediatrics at our medical center. Recipients will be selected based on their record of promoting diversity and inclusion.

Thank you for your interest in our programs. We hope to hear from you soon.