Pediatric Residency Program | Hackensack Meridian Health   

Program Details

Positions Available

Education Curriculum

At Jersey Shore, there is a strong emphasis placed on didactic learning. During the three-year residency, residents will actively participate in a variety of conferences. The goal of these conferences is to improve:
  • Critical thinking; research, QI planning and development.
  • Understanding and interpretation of the literature.
  • The management of patients with complex conditions and diseases.
  • The understanding of ethical and palliative care principles in the care for hospitalized children.
Our program offers an outstanding educational curriculum that includes:
  • Thursday Half Day Didactic Conferences
  • Morbidity & Mortality Conference – Quarterly
  • Journal Club – Monthly
  • Access to MedStudy Questions and Digital Core for all 3 years
  • Access to Pedialink and PREP Questions for all 3 years
Grand Rounds
  • Speakers from all aspects of pediatrics provide lectures on a diverse array of topics.
Morning Report
  • Case presentation on general pediatrics and subspecialty topics.
Resident Lecture Series
  • General pediatrics and subspecialty presentation based on American Board of Pediatrics content specification.
Patient Safety Conference
  • Quality/Safety presentation
Annual Research Day
  • Oral and poster presentations of resident case reports and research.
  • Faculty and residents receive multiple awards annually

Curriculum

Intern “Boot Camp”
  • Series of lectures during the first few months of the program aimed towards orienting interns to the basics of pediatric residency. Topics include writing history and physicals, obtaining pediatric-specific information, presenting on rounds, orientation to nursery and much more!
Evidence-Based Medicine
  • The EBM teaching is integrated into our established educational and clinical activities. An EBM presentation is an academic requirement for each third-year resident. These presentations are done under the mentorship of an assigned faculty member and are given during Department wide Grand Rounds.
Pediatric Board Review –Twice Monthly
  • Our program incorporates twice a month Pediatric Board Review sessions with our general pediatricians as well as pediatric subspecialists to cover the Pediatric Board Exam Content Specifications. This review series incorporates both didactics and pediatric board questions (Medstudy and PREP) into each session.

Rotations

Our hospital has 45 inpatient beds, and approximately 2,500 admissions per year. Additionally, JSUMC houses a well newborn nursery with over 3000 deliveries a year, a 35-bed Level III NICU, a 10-bed PICU and a 20 bed designated Pediatrics Emergency Department. Residents will be exposed to a variety of clinical cases, including bread and butter inpatient pediatrics as well as children with medical complexity and unusual presentations. JSUMC has diverse pediatric core and elective rotations such as:

Core Rotations

Inpatient General Pediatrics

Residents spend 3–5 months annually on our bustling 45-bed general pediatric floor. Here, they manage a diverse range of patients, including those on service and under pediatric subspecialty consults. From day one, residents dive into hands-on learning, collaborating closely with our pediatric hospitalists and mentoring medical students. During the PGY1 year, they master the fundamentals of pediatric history-taking and physical assessment. By PGY2 and PGY3, residents transition into leadership roles, guiding interns and students while deepening their clinical skills. The rotation also includes structured educational sessions with pediatric subspecialists, enhancing both breadth and depth of pediatric knowledge.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

In PGY2 and PGY3, residents spend a dedicated month—and additional night shifts—in our 10-bed PICU. Without fellows, residents take the lead, performing a wide array of procedures and managing critical pediatric emergencies under the guidance of experienced PICU attendings. This high-stakes environment offers intensive learning and rapid skill development in pediatric critical care.

A PICU room at JSUMC Pediatrics unit.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Our 35-bed Level III NICU provides care for neonates from JSUMC and affiliated HMH hospitals. Residents rotate through the NICU during PGY1/PGY2 and again in PGY3. They gain expertise in managing premature and medically fragile newborns and actively participate in high-risk deliveries and C-sections. Procedural experience is plentiful, and training in NRP begins during orientation. For those seeking even more, moonlighting and NICU transport shifts are available.

A NICU room at JSUMC Pediatrics unit.

Pediatric Emergency Medicine

Our pediatric emergency department is a high-energy, fast-paced environment where residents sharpen their ability to triage and treat acute pediatric conditions. PGY1 residents complete a full month here, followed by additional time in PGY2 and PGY3. Under the supervision of Pediatric Emergency Medicine-trained attendings, residents encounter a wide spectrum of cases and perform numerous procedures.

A Pediatric medicine room at JSUMC.

Newborn Nursery

Residents immerse themselves in the first days of life during this rotation, which occurs in both PGY1 and PGY2. Working alongside pediatric hospitalists and local pediatricians, residents care for newborns in the nursery, attend deliveries, and respond to C-sections—always with NICU staff support.

Developmental Pediatrics

PGY2 residents spend a transformative month learning from two exceptional developmental pediatricians. They evaluate and manage children with autism, developmental delays, and learning differences. Additionally, residents participate weekly in the Infant and Toddler Assessment Program (ITAP), following up with high-risk NICU graduates.

Adolescent Medicine

This one-month rotation gives residents a comprehensive view of adolescent health. They manage inpatient consults, collaborate with child psychiatry, and gain gynecologic experience under the guidance of a pediatric and adolescent gynecologist, ensuring well-rounded training in this nuanced field.

Outpatient Continuity Clinic

Residents engage in the full spectrum of outpatient care at the Jane Booker Family Health Center Pediatric Clinic. In addition to a full month in PGY1, two weeks in PGY2, and another month in PGY3, all residents maintain a weekly half-day continuity clinic throughout residency. Whether managing well-child checkups or urgent care visits, residents develop lasting relationships with families while honing skills in phone triage and chronic disease management.

JSUMC Pediatric Residences at the Community Clinic.

Hematology/Oncology

During PGY2, residents join our hematology/oncology team for a month, gaining exposure to both inpatient and outpatient care. They participate in the comprehensive treatment of pediatric patients with hematologic and oncologic conditions, building both empathy and expertise.

Night Float

Our night float system promotes resident wellness and teamwork. Each year, residents rotate through 2–3 months of night float, alternating between two weeks of days and two weeks of nights. Interns manage floor patients, while seniors oversee care on the floor and in the PICU. Residents also handle transfer calls from outside hospitals, learning how to triage and coordinate complex admissions efficiently and confidently.

Mental Health Rotations

Our residents gain valuable psychiatric training through a dynamic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry rotation split between PGY2 and PGY3 years.

  • PGY2 Focus: Residents spend two immersive weeks in the Emergency Department and Consult Liaison service, where they manage acute psychiatric presentations and sharpen their diagnostic skills in high-pressure settings.
  • PGY3 Focus: During their two-week outpatient rotation, residents focus on pharmacologic management of psychiatric conditions in children and adolescents, learning to tailor treatments for a wide range of developmental and behavioral disorders.

This staged approach ensures progressive responsibility and depth in mental health care—crucial skills for any well-rounded physician.

Evaluations & Advisors

Faculty Advisors

In the beginning of intern year, each resident is assigned a Faculty Advisor for the duration of their residency training. These advisors help guide residents through the training process, help answer questions and ensure that all requirements are being met. Residents will meet with their faculty advisors regularly to review their peer and faculty evaluations, procedure logs and learning plans. It is a chance for the resident to develop a personal relationship with an experienced physician to discuss professional goals and individual issues. Research and scholarship are also emphasized during training. With the assistance of a faculty research advisor and biostatistician, every resident can carry out a research project, producing a paper suitable for publication. Some of this work has been presented at national and international meetings.

Career Mentors

All PGY-2 residents will choose a career mentor in addition to their faculty advisor to help them develop their future career goals, design potential research projects and their individualized curriculum. The individualized curriculum is designed by each resident to aid in both learning and decision making that can help to further their pediatric careers.

Evaluations/Feedback

On a monthly basis, residents receive comprehensive feedback through our online evaluation system called New Innovations. Feedback is also provided frequently and informally on rounds, after conferences, or after any observed encounter. Clinical and communication skills are also assessed through observed clinical experiences in the outpatient clinic with feedback given by an observing attending. Feedback is also given by patients, medical students, and nurses. Additionally, residents have the opportunity to evaluate the program and faculty anonymously.


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