Didactic Education

The core didactic portion of our program includes online and live lectures series, interactive conferences and rounds, Journal Club, specialty workshops, and resident reports and presentations.

Dr. andrake lecturing
Dr. Andrake leading a case conference
  • Each day begins with a continental breakfast and Morning Report. All house staff attend and partcipate in this case based conference.
  • Our online lecture series is a 24/7 education system which appeals to a variety of learning styles. It includes video lectures and corresponding slides, as well as reference articles for more detailed information. There is a short quiz included with each lecture, which is designed to reflect relevant pediatric board-review questions.
  • Our interactive conference series runs for all three years of residency, and is divided into approximately one-month blocks by subject area. Our live lecture series is case based and correlates with the online lecture series. This integration greatly facilitates resident education.
  • Pediatric Grand Rounds—Wednesday 9:15-10:30—are presented by the pediatric faculty and guest speakers. The presentations provide relevant in-depth review of important pediatric clinical and research related topics and are followed by an interactive discussion between the speaker and audience.
  • Resident presentations are required and allow the resident to conduct research in their areas of interest and assert their professionalism in the field.
  • Club Med Journal Club is our twice-monthly evidence-based medicine (EBM) journal club. This innovative program integrates a traditional journal club format with the didactic teaching of EBM principles.
  • During our workshops in Evidence Based Medicine, house staff present and participate in a series of workshops designed to analyze recent literature and demonstrate possible effects on practice. These workshops are held twice each month and utilize a curriculum in evidence based medicine.

Unique Opportunities

Resident and faculty innovation fuel several unique opportunites to continue your education outside the lecture hall:

  • Teaching Skills for House staff monthly seminar series offers residents the skills to improve their teaching abilities. The series covers such areas as: supervising medical students, effective teaching styles, leading interactive conferences, teaching at the bedside, giving feedback, preparing presentations, encouraging critical thinking, evaluating students and serving as a role model.
  • Community Oriented Advocacy Training program tackles real community problems and explores the role of the pediatrician as an advocate for children. Residents are assigned to groups with faculty mentors. The groups create their own projects over the course of three years. Successful projects that have had an impact include handgun safety, support against teen violence, smoking prevention, child nutrition, and water safety.
  • Parent Partners in Health Education is a home visit program for pediatric and psychiatry residents at SUNY Upstate Medical University. The program is funded by the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council. The goal is to teach residents about day to day issues faced by families who are raising a child with a developmental disability. Residents make home visits and learn about community agencies.
  • Teaching Day is our yearly conference for local professionals. SUNY Upstate Pediatric department hosts the one-day conference designed to meet the educational needs of pediatricians and other health care professionals involved in the providing care for children. The conference is held at the Onondaga County convention center with invited national and international physician speakers.