There are regularly scheduled weekly and monthly conferences as presented in the following table.
Sample Conference Schedule
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
Week 1 | Neonatal FellowResearch Meeting | Fetal Infant Mortality/Morbidity Review
| Neonatal Fellow | Pediatric Grand Rounds | |
Week 2 | MFM Congenital Anomalies Conference | Journal Review | Neonatal Fellow | Pediatric Grand Rounds | Neonatal Fellow |
Week 3 | Neonatal FellowResearch Meeting | Neonatal Grand Rounds | Neonatal Fellow | Pediatric Grand Rounds | |
Week 4 | Neonatal FellowResearch Meeting | Core Curriculum Topics ConferenceMFM/NPM/PATH conference | Neonatal Fellow | Pediatric Grand RoundsEthics conference | Neonatal FellowCase ReviewECMO Case Review |
Congenital Anomalies Conference
Collaboration between Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) and Neonatology is critical to providing the highest quality care for our tiniest patients. This monthly conference is fellow-led and is a combined meeting between Neonatology and MFM. Pending cases or recent deliveries of infants with congenital abnormalities are discussed. One of the MFM fellows reviews the prenatal course and management while the NICU fellow discusses the delivery or delivery plan and management of the infant after birth. Additionally, there is a brief review of relevant embryology and genetics discussion pertaining to the anomalies.
ECMO Case Conference
Kentucky Children's Hospital (KCH) maintains an active Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) Program and is an Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Center of Excellence. Fellows have the opportunity to participate in the management of neonates requiring ECMO. Each neonatal patient who undergoes ECMO at KCH will have their hospital course reviewed by the ECMO team. These cases are presented by Neonatal Fellows and the patient presentation, events leading up to cannulation, EMCO course, and post-ECMO course are reviewed and discussed.
Fetal Infant Mortality Review
Fetal and infant deaths are reviewed by the division monthly. These conferences are presented by the neonatal fellows and advanced practice providers (APPs). During this time the patient’s prenatal, delivery, and ICU course is discussed and reviewed. Additionally, relevant literature is incorporated into the discussion to identify potential practice and quality improvements.
Journal Review
Neonatal fellows are responsible for presenting journal reviews annually during their fellowship. Fellows choose a topic of interest and meet with a faculty mentor to prepare a presentation that reviews the current relevant literature. Fellows analyze the strength of the studies in regards to design, methods, statistical analysis, and conclusions. The fellow also facilitates in-depth discussion with faculty members to improve existing practice standards.
Discharge Planning Meeting
While on service, the fellows covering the APP team, resident team, and delivery/step down team attend a multidisciplinary meeting to discuss all the hospitalized infants and plan for their discharge. Key team members include: discharge planning nurses, social workers, speech therapists, physical and occupational therapists, and NICU Graduate Clinic staff. The meeting is designed to ensure all infants being discharged receive all services and equipment necessary to thrive in their home environment.
Maternal Fetal Medicine – Neonatology – Pathology Joint Conference
Interdisciplinary collaboration is a key component of modern medical practice; as such each month Maternal Fetal Medicine, Neonatology, and Pathology hold a joint conference to discuss interesting or unusual cases seen at Kentucky Children’s Hospital in the past few months. The conference is jointly presented by MFM fellows, Neonatology fellows, and Pathology residents. This allows faculty, fellows, and residents to follow a patient’s course prenatally, through delivery and throughout NICU management and ultimately to a pathologic diagnosis. These presentations illustrate the complex interaction between clinical presentations and cellular pathology.
Neonatal Grand Rounds
Each month either a neonatal faculty member or a speaker from another division at Kentucky Children’s Hospital will present a topic of their choosing to the division. Topics are all relevant to neonatology and range from Radiology, Cardiology and Infectious Disease, to Ethics and Palliative Care.
Neonatal Fellow Board Review
In addition to clinical training during fellowship, emphasis is placed on preparing for the American Board of Pediatrics Subspecialty Exam in Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine. We incorporate a three year rotating curriculum board review into our conference schedule two to three times per month. Each meeting occurs on a Wednesday morning and is attended by all fellows and our program director, Thitinart Sithisarn, MD, PhD. Assigned readings come from either NeoReviews or Fanaroff and Martin’s Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine: Disease of the Fetus and Infant. Additional resources are incorporated as needed. Prior to each meeting, fellows are expected to read the assigned literature and take a practice test. Topics and questions are then discussed as a group under the guidance of our program director.
Neonatal Pulmonology Seminar Series
At the start of each academic year, all fellows attend a detailed lecture series that discusses pulmonary physiology and mechanical ventilation. This seminar occurs on Wednesday mornings. This lecture series is presented by M. Douglas Cunningham MD, Professor of Pediatrics and founder of Kentucky Children's Hospital NICU. Dr. Cunningham has over forty years of experience caring for critically ill neonates and is an expert in mechanical ventilation and lung development. These are didactic, interactive case-based lectures that discuss key components of ventilation. Series topics include:
1. Lung Mechanics
2. Pulmonary Function
3. Pulmonary Graphics (Loops)
4. Continuous Mechanical Ventilation
5. High Frequency Ventilation for Neonatal Patients
6. Noninvasive Ventilatory Support
7. NAVA/APRV/VTV
8. Weaning from Mechanical Ventilation
9. Surfactant Therapy
10. Pharmacological Adjuncts to Ventilator Support