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The Neonatology Fellowship is a three year fellowship at Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University (OSU). Fellows will have a broad range of study and a close working relationship with faculty members.

Neonatology Fellowship Curriculum

The Ohio State University NICU
The OSU NICU has 49 beds and is a Level III unit capable of providing continuous life support, including high-frequency ventilation and inhaled nitric oxide. An active, high-risk delivery service managed by Maternal Fetal medicine provides fellows with ample opportunity to become proficient at the resuscitation and initial management of critically-ill newborns. Fellows are supervised by two neonatology attending physicians each month and are given increasing responsibility to manage patients, lead rounds and teach as their training progresses. A weekly perinatal conference is held in conjunction with maternal fetal medicine and anesthesiology to review interesting cases.

Nationwide Children’s NICU
The Memorial Tournament NICU has 101 beds and is a level IIIC unit capable of providing continuous life support, including high-frequency ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide, and ECMO. The unit is divided into the main J4 NICU (57 beds), a level III developmental unit (28 beds) and a 16-bed level II unit. Patients have access to pediatric surgery, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric anesthesiology and a full range of pediatric medical subspecialists. Pediatric radiologists are available 24 hours a day. While on service, fellows are supervised by two neonatology attending physicians each month and will work with 2nd year pediatric residents and NNPs. A thorough 1 week ECMO course is offered each year and fellows have the opportunity to manage patients on ECMO with appropriate faculty supervision.

Perinatal Medicine
Fellows spend one month in their first year of training working with faculty and fellows from the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine at The Ohio State University. Fellows attend daily board checkout rounds (where high-risk patients are discussed by Ob/Gyn residents and the MFM faculty/fellows) and can attend clinics for high risk pregnancies including preterm labor and diabetes in pregnancy. The fetal therapy program at Ohio State offers treatment for a variety of conditions including isoimmunization, twin-twin transfusion syndrome and fetal pleural effusions/ascites, as well as the EXIT procedure for fetal neck masses.

Cardiology
Fellows spend one month in their first year of training with the pediatric cardiac intensivists in the Cardiac ICU at The Heart Center at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Fellows are responsible for consults in the NICU with supervision from Cardiology staff and get experience in the post-operative management of infants with congenital heart disease. Several didactic conferences are held each week and fellows can attend prenatal consultations including fetal echocardiography and MRI.

BPD
Fellows get experience in the outpatient management of infants discharged from the hospital with BPD. An interdisciplinary team including physicians, dedicated nurses, nutritionists, physical/occupational therapists, and social workers care for these infants. Fellows spend 1 half day a month in the BPD outpatient clinic.

Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic
Fellows spend 1 half day a month in Neonatal Follow-up Clinic. High-risk patients discharged from the NICU including premature infants or other infants at risk for neurodevelopmental delay are seen in the Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic. Fellows gain experience in downloading and interpreting apnea monitors as well as application of tools to evaluate for developmental delay such as the Bayley Scales of infant and toddler development.

Call Schedule
Fellows take in-house call with faculty backup at Nationwide Children’s or at Ohio State 6 times per month while on service in the NICU or on Cardiololgy/Perinatal Medicine. While on research months, fellows take 4 in-house calls per month at either hospital. For all months, one of the in-house calls will be on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday). Call at Nationwide Children’s is taken with 2 neonatal nurse practitioners and one 2nd year pediatric resident. Call at Ohio State is taken with 2 pediatric residents and/or neonatal nurse practitioners and one pediatric intern. Fellows are required to follow the mandated ACGME work hours during all rotations.

Research
Fellows have broad opportunities to pursue a research project that is primarily basic science, clinical, or translational with a faculty mentor located either in The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s (one of the nation’s ten largest free-standing pediatric research centers) or on the campus of The Ohio State College of Medicine (including the Dorothy M. Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute). Fellows can spend time rotating with different mentors in their first year of training to find a specific research interest and are expected to develop and complete a research project suitable for publication during the last two years of training. Each fellow is assigned a Scientific Oversight Committee (SOC) within their first 6 months of training. Members of this committee provide mentorship and research guidance to the fellow. Financial support is provided for fellows to present at national meetings including the annual Society for Pediatric Research.