Welcome to the University of New Mexico’s Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program.
This is a new training program and is approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Our program aims to train academic pediatric hospitalists who are leaders in the care of hospitalized children. This is accomplished through a robust curriculum that focuses on high quality family centered care, medical education, research, and quality improvement. Our fellowship program will provide training to enhance our graduates’ ability to provide high quality family centered care to all pediatric patients, including complex medical care, care of acute illness, PHM led sedation and PICC line services, newborn care, and care of the child in community hospital settings.
Our fellows’ clinical training occurs at the University of New Mexico Children’s Hospital which opened in 2007 and provides the most advanced pediatric medical care available in New Mexico. The Pediatric Hospitalist Group staffs the General Pediatric Unit with 35 beds, Pediatric Subspecialty Unit with 20 beds, and Carrie Tingley Rehabilitation Unit with 16 beds. In addition, there is a 20-bed PICU and a 24-bed level IV NICU, and UNMH is the state’s only Level I Trauma Center for Pediatrics. We serve a diverse population in metropolitan and rural communities of New Mexico as well as neighboring states, and UNMH is a referral center for specialized pediatric care services, pediatric surgical services, medically complex care, and pediatric rehabilitation services.
The fellowship is a two-year training program with 2 fellows per year. On the inpatient hospital medicine service, the fellow leads a multidisciplinary team in the evaluation and management of acutely ill children and has ample opportunity for a varied and rich experience in pediatric diseases and subspecialty pediatric services. Additional clinical training occurs at Presbyterian Hospital, a community hospital in Albuquerque. Our program also offers a unique rotation staffed by Pediatric Hospital Medicine faculty that focuses on the delivery of inpatient and outpatient moderate sedation and PICC line placement for pediatric patients. Fellows rotate on the inpatient hospital medicine service at UNMH eight weeks per year, and as part of the core rotations complete a PICU, Newborn Nursery, community site and Sedations rotation.
Elective clinical time is available for other rotations based on the fellow’s individual learning goals. In total, 32 weeks of individualized learning curriculum is provided during fellowship. Some of the rotations available as part of the individualized curriculum include Hospice, Procedures, Newborn Deliveries, Rehabilitation, NICU, and Medical Informatics, among many other traditional electives in subspecialty pediatrics. Fellows also have the ability to complete a Master’s Program during the 2 year program if desired.
Fellows participate in numerous conferences and ancillary clinical experiences that provide them with a wide knowledge base in Pediatric Hospital Medicine. Fellows attend “Fellows Conference,” a noon conference for fellows in PEM, NICU, CART, and PHM with an emphasis on Research and QI topics which meets once per month. Quarterly journal clubs promote evidence-based practice and critical appraisal of the literature. Additionally, fellows attend monthly didactics with PHM faculty to discuss challenging cases, pathophysiology, and additional pertinent topics such as pediatric sedation, mentorship, professionalism, giving feedback, etc. Fellows can also attend Pediatric resident school for topics of interest and are expected to present a case during M&M conference once per year. Fellows also attend Pediatric Grand Rounds every Thursday. For those fellows interested in clinical educator development, we have an Achievement in Medical Education Program (AMEP) with a wide breath of workshops available. Fellows can complete the AMEP program and obtain a certificate of completion.
For more information, please visit the AMEP website by clicking here.
Research and Quality Improvement
A significant portion of fellowship is dedicated to pursing a clinical research or quality improvement project. Fellows are given 32 weeks during fellowship of protected non-clinical time to focus on their project. We strive to provide comprehensive and well-rounded scholarly training that will prepare fellows for a career in academic medicine.
Fellows work closely with a research mentor who helps guide them through all aspects of their project, either within the Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine or the broader Department of Pediatrics and Health Sciences system at UNM.
Fellows’ research projects are supported through the Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC). The purpose of this committee is to review the fellow’s scholarly activity every six to 12 months throughout fellowship, while offering guidance on next steps and navigating roadblocks, and often include members from outside the division. Fellows will be expected to present their work at the Annual UNM Pediatric Research Week and/or Graduate Medical Education Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Symposium by the end of their final year of training.
Regionally competitive salary for the PGY-4 and PGY-5 levels (salaries are based on fiscal year 2022-2023)
PGY-4 – $65,973
PGY-5 – $68,831
For information on GME Benefits, please visit our GME website.
Annual professional development stipend which can be used the at fellow’s discretion towards educational expenses including conference attendance, research related expenses, books, or professional membership dues of $2000 per year
One week of vacation around Christmas/New Year’s, in addition to GME granted sick and annual leave
There are generally two categorical positions available each year in the UNM Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship Program. Eligible fellowship candidates must be graduates of an ACGME accredited pediatric or medicine-pediatrics residency and board-certified or board-eligible in general pediatrics. Foreign medical school applicants with a J1 visa and US Pediatric residency training will be considered for the program.
All fellowship training positions are offered via the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) and applications will be processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Please visit the ERAS website for information on how to apply. Applications are accepted through September 1st and we will begin sending interview invitations the first week of August.
A completed application includes:
All interviews will be held in September and October in a format that is in accordance with national pediatric education society recommendations. Interviews for the 2023-2024 year will be virtual.
ERAS Dates to Remember
NRMP Dates to Remember
New Mexico has the highest proportion of Hispanic and Native American people in the US. It is a culturally diverse state. New Mexico offers excellent weather and outdoor recreation with multiple National forests and State Parks. Albuquerque rests at the base of the Sandia Mountains and is located 45 minutes from Santa Fe. Albuquerque also hosts the International Balloon Fiesta which is the largest gathering of hot air balloons in the world. The Land of Enchantment is one of the most beautiful places to live in the Southwest. Below are links to other attractions around Albuquerque and NM.
Fellowship Director
Maria Heubeck, MD
University of New Mexico
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Hospital Medicine