Curriculum for Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship

Program Overview

The Academic General Pediatric Fellowship Program at Baylor College of Medicine is a three-year accredited program that combines training in research methodology, educational scholarship, multiple teaching opportunities in a variety of settings, and the refinement of clinical skills. The fellowship offers individualized curricular tracks with 70 percent of the fellow’s time dedicated to research, teaching, advocacy and leadership training. The remaining 30 percent of time is spent precepting medical students and residents. The training for each track is three years in length. All fellows will complete either a Masters in Public Health or a Masters in Education.

Educational Scholarship and Leadership Track

This track will provide knowledge and skills for academic jobs in educational leadership and scholarship:

  • Obtain a Masters in Education through the University of Houston.
  • Become a “scholar-in-residence” at the Center for Research, Innovation and Scholarship in Medical Education.
  • Work alongside leading educators in the field of pediatrics and having access to a full time statistician, medical writers/editors and numerous educational projects.
  • Opportunities in faculty development, residency and medical student education as well as continuing medical education at the local and national level.
  • Acquire skills in medical education research, leadership skills and practical experience in developing curricula, creating evaluation tools, and integrating technology into teaching across the educational continuum.

Health Services Research Track

Baylor offers a fundamentally unique environment for addressing the future of child health and health policy.

  • An emphasis on underserved populations and a division research portfolio consisting of NIH funded studies on health disparities, obesity, and children with special health care needs.
  • Faculty mentors who have expertise in health services research and behavioral interventions.
  • Access to large local data sources including the Texas Children’s Immunization Project and Texas Children’s Health Plan.*

* Texas Children’s Immunization Project is a nationally recognized center focused on improving pediatric immunization rates, and Texas Children’s Health Plan is the largest insurance provider for children with Medicaid and CHIP in Houston, Texas.

Fellows College

Fellows College is an innovative and collaborative approach to address the ACGME nonclinical skills required for subspecialty training. It was implemented at Baylor College of Medicine in 2011. The program has expanded from approximately 11 sessions in the first year to now about two sessions per month.

Expanded curricular opportunities provided by Fellows' College, help to prepare subspecialty fellows for their future careers. Furthermore, fellows have a wider range of opportunities to network and interact with an extended community of learners and leaders participating in Fellows' College.

For further information about the Fellows’ College curriculum, visit the Pediatric Subspecialty Fellows’ College website.

Research Curriculum

Faculty in the Division of Pediatric Primary Care and Public Health are involved in research projects to inform multiple areas of pediatric medicine including:

  • Graduate medical education
  • Immigrant and refugee health
  • Obesity
  • Children with complex medical care
  • Immunizations
  • Health disparities
  • Adverse childhood experiences
  • Integrative pediatric medicine
  • Minority Health Policy
  • Patient-Centered Medical Home

Didactic

There are a variety of educational experiences offered to the AGP fellows. Clinical precepting of residents and medical students occur on a weekly basis in a variety of ambulatory settings (see Training Sites). Fellows teach pediatric residents in small group settings as well as large group lectures.

  • Weekly seminars in the areas of teaching, research, quality improvement, and career development offered through the Baylor Pediatric Fellows’ College
  • Academic half day every other month, which provides didactics in an interactive, small group format
  • Faculty development workshops offered at Center for Research, Innovation and Scholarship (CRIS) in medical education at Texas Children's Hospital

Training Sites

Training sites include Texas Children's Hospital (Primary Care Practice, Complex Care Clinic, Mobile Clinic, multiple specialty clinics, and the hospital medicine service) and the Harris Health System – Pasadena Pediatric and Adolescent Health Center.

Texas Children's Hospital is a part of a network of health care services known as Texas Children's Integrated Delivery System. The system's mission is "to support excellence in patient care, education, and research with a commitment to quality service and cost-effective care to enhance the health and well-being of children locally, nationally and internationally."

The structure of the Integrated Delivery System enables Texas Children's to reach into Houston's neighborhoods to offer a full range of pediatric healthcare services. The mission of Texas Children's is to provide quality patient care, education and research, and to support that mission with a commitment to excellent service and cost-effective care in response to the needs of the community.

The hospital provides inpatient and outpatient care in primary care pediatrics as well as more than 40 pediatric subspecialties, and operates one of the largest pediatric emergency centers in the nation. Texas Children's is one of the two training sites for Baylor pediatric residents.

Texas Children’s Primary Care Practice (TCH PCP) is a community-based pediatric residents' continuity clinic serving primarily low-income, minority population with federally subsidized health insurance. The clinic provides comprehensive routine and preventive health care for infants, children, adolescents, and young adults through 21 years of age.

It serves as the primary continuity clinic site for Baylor pediatric residents. AGP faculty and fellows supervise pediatric residents and medical students that rotate through this community-based site.

Texas Children's Health Plan is an HMO providing affordable healthcare coverage to pregnant women and children in the Houston metropolitan area. The Centers for Children and Women (Center at Greenspoint and the Center Southwest Houston) are part of the Texas Children’s Health Plan Network and have been designated as level-3 patient centered medical homes by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. The goals of the Centers for Children and Women are to provide preventative medicine, maintain quality care, and avoid patients seeking care through emergency room visits.

The Centers serve its community by offering comprehensive services which include medical, dental, vision, behavioral, pharmacy, and labs. Residency Program Community Pediatrics faculty staff the Centers for Children and Women. These centers also serve as continuity clinic sites for Baylor pediatric residents.

Texas Children's Hospital launched the Mobile Clinic Outreach Program in 2000 with a goal to provide much needed healthcare services to elementary school children in some of Houston's most medically underserved areas. The Mobile Clinic Outreach Program services a predominately Hispanic, low-income, uninsured population. The two mobile units of the Outreach Program currently serve 23 elementary schools throughout the Houston Independent School District and nearby school districts (primarily located in the medically underserved areas of Gulfton and Hobby Airport). Each mobile unit is a customized motor coach that transports a fully equipped medical clinic, and is staffed by pediatricians, a pediatric nurse practitioner, licensed vocational nurse, social worker, and volunteers.

This team provides a full range of primary healthcare services including well-child examinations, minor illness evaluation and treatment, vaccinations, nutrition guidance, health and safety education, social service referrals, and preventive education. In addition to providing medical services, the program helps eligible families enroll in insurance plans and find permanent medical homes. Three AGP pediatricians and one pediatric nurse practitioner serve in the mobile clinics. Fellows (one month rotation), pediatric residents (one half day per week), and medical students (one half day per week) gain invaluable knowledge in the biopsychosocial determinants of health during this Mobile Clinic Outreach experience.

Pediatric and Adolescent Health Center is part of the Harris Health System and provides care for indigent or low-income families who depend primarily or totally on Harris Health for their healthcare. Rotation through Pediatric and Adolescent Health Center provides residents and medical students with exposure to many common pediatric problems that, in an indigent patient population with poor access to health care, often are seen in very late and very severe form. Specialty care offered at the clinic includes pulmonary, developmental/high risk, special needs, rheumatology, gastrointestinal, psychiatry, neurology, behavioral health therapy and adolescent weight management with psychology.

It serves as a continuity clinic site for Baylor pediatric residents. AGP faculty and fellows supervise pediatric residents and medical students that rotate through this community-based site.

Wellness

Maintaining your physical and emotional wellness is a prerequisite to professional success. Our fellows have access to a number of programs to support their well-being. Visit our student wellness resources webpage for information.