- House Staff Lunch: Bi-monthly lunch where residents meet with Program Director, Associate Program Directors, Program Coordinator and Chief Residents to discuss current ongoings of the residency
- Wellness Committee: Comprised of residents from all three classes, led by chief residents. Participation in improving residency wellness at GME level. Create curriculum for didactics and structured wellness activities. Keep a pulse on the wellness of the program.
- Wellness lunches: Occur at the start of each rotation and intermittently throughout. Some lunches directed at having residents spend time as an inpatient team off the floor, others directed at lunches for each class. Other more formal didactic lunches called “Wellness in Medical Practice,” which include our integrated wellness curriculum. This was designed to promote resident wellness and covers specific topics such as resources at UI Hospitals and Clinics, building resilience, burnout and burnout prevention, mindfulness, debriefing, healthy living habits, and interconnectedness
Retreats
These occur annually with directed teaching according to year or residency. All residents are excused from clinical duties to complete two-day retreat activities:
- Annual retreat for PGY1s focusing on team building, stress management, and end-of-life issues
- Annual retreat for PGY2s focusing on teaching and supervisory skills
- Annual retreat for PGY3s focusing on life after residency
Additional "retreats"
- Career Day: 2nd year residents excused from clinical duties to discuss careers in general pediatrics, private vs academic, and fellowship training
- Advocacy Day: 1st year residents excused from clinical duties to learn more about advocacy opportunities
Mentors
- Each resident is assigned a formal mentor, with consideration of possible career interests. Residents will meet with this mentor at least twice per year
- Research “speed dating” event held each fall to help residents find research mentors if desired
- Senior residents act as informal mentors to many junior residents
Social Events
- Social events occur in a variety of settings! Scheduled social events, hosted by the residency program, include annual residents and family picnic, post academic half day get-togethers, winter celebration party, and graduation events.
- Program coordinated events also occur spontaneously throughout the year based on resident interests. Past events include baseball games, happy hour, trivia nights, movie nights, wine and paint events, dog park events, and more!
- In addition to program sponsored events, residents frequently plan their own social activities. Common examples include board game nights, birthday parties, dinner (delivery, restaurant, potluck style, etc.), and many more!
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee
Department-wide committee on DEI with opportunity to join as a resident member. For more information on DEI initiatives, please click here.
Program Evaluation Committee
Meets monthly to review issues affecting medical students, residents, and fellows. Committee is led by residency program administrators and key teaching faculty also sit on this committee. All residents are invited to join the committee to provide representation across all three years. This committee reviews the residency training program annually and suggests changes for the future.
Resident Council
One pediatric resident serves as a liaison between the pediatric residency and the graduate medical education office. This resident provides input and feedback on issues that affect house staff. A representative from all core residency programs is appointed to this committee.
Resident Recruitment Committee
This committee meets throughout the year to determine how the residency will conduct recruitment activities and social media presence. This committee helps determine appointments for recruitment dinners and lunches to ensure similar interests are matched up. Committee has representatives from each class.
Wellness Committee
This committee is dedicated to promotion of residency wellness. Members work to find speakers for didactics on wellness. Committee also in charge of creating structured wellness opportunities (coffee cards, playing games, etc.)