Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship

Applications are accepted through ERAS. We participate in the Spring Subspecialty Match of the year prior to July entry into our program.

For information on how to apply to the Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship, please contact our program coordinator, Victoria Ford, at 832-822-1935 or email vrford@texaschildrens.org.

Information about stipends and benefits is available on the Graduate Medical Education website.

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. View wellness resources.

The patient population at our clinical sites is large and varied. Our clinical team evaluates over 3,000 suspected victims of abuse and neglect annually, and trainees have robust exposure to all areas of clinical assessment of child maltreatment: physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect and medical child abuse. As a result, our fellows obtain a deep reservoir of clinical experience by the time of their graduation.

• Texas Children’s Hospital is one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the nation with more than 4.3 million patient encounters annually. It is consistently ranked among the top five children's hospitals in U.S. News & World Report. 
• The Children's Assessment Center provides a professional, compassionate and coordinated approach to the treatment of sexually abused children and their families in the greater Houston community. 
• Additional community and Houston medical center partners include the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences and the Houston District Attorney's Office, where fellows rotate to develop further understanding of the forensic aspects of this subspecialty. 
• During their first year, all fellows also complete Public Health and Foster Care rotations in order to gain valuable exposure to the diverse work happening within our section. 
• Additional elective rotations are tailored to the individual goals and interests of each fellow. 

We have a structured didactics curriculum to cover the Child Abuse Pediatrics Board Specifications in order to ensure each fellow is well equipped for future practice and successful board certification. Educational opportunities include lectures, case discussions, M&Ms/peer reviews, journal club, and interactive sessions, some of which are detailed further below. 

• TX CAP Collaborative: Starting in 2019, all 4 of the CAP fellowship programs in Texas joined to form a virtual collaboration of CAP-specific didactic teaching, journal clubs, and case discussions. Since all CAP Fellowship programs are small in terms of both number of fellows and faculty, this collaboration broadens the perspectives and enriches discussions. This collaboration also directly and purposely connects each fellow to the network of other Texas CAP fellows and faculty for additional mentorship and camaraderie. 
• Fellows College is a program offered to all BCM pediatrics subspecialty training programs. The sessions consist of a combination of didactic and experiential learning exercises that cover the ACGME and ABP core program requirements, as well as practical career development topics such as employment contracts, negotiation skills, and career promotion tracks. Child abuse fellows are provided dedicated time to attend these events.
• National CAP ECHO is a web-based platform accessible to child abuse fellows from across the country. One-hour lectures occur on Fridays at noon, and fellows have protected time to attend these virtual sessions.
• Academic Half Days: The child abuse and academic general pediatrics fellows at BCM meet on a bimonthly basis for structured didactic half-days in which we cover topics such as research, teaching and leadership.