We aim to accomplish this mission by:
- Providing broad clinical experience in neonatal pathophysiology and evidence-based medical care.
- Exposure to scholarly work, including clinical, translational, basic science research, medical education and quality improvement.
- Providing education and mentoring opportunities to develop as role models and teachers.
- Fostering mentor/mentee relationships that encourage fellows to pursue academic careers.
- Excellence and innovation in didactic education.
Clinical experience
The Division of Newborn Medicine at Tufts Medical Center provides excellent neonatal care to newborns throughout an extensive network of nurseries, with an average of 11,000 deliveries yearly. The Obstetrical service at Tufts Medical Center strongly emphasizes prenatal diagnosis and high-risk Obstetrics; 90% of all deliveries in our center are high-risk deliveries. Additional high-risk mothers who present to our affiliate level I and II centers are transferred to the Tufts NICU. The Tufts Maternal Fetal Medicine group provides care/consultation to these high-risk patients at the level II centers. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Tufts Medical Center is a 40-bed unit. A dedicated Neonatal Transport Team transfers newborns needing a higher level of care from our affiliates and other community hospitals to the Tufts NICU. Once here, infants receive advanced specialized treatments, including high-frequency ventilation, inhaled nitric oxide, therapeutic total body cooling, and pediatric sub-specialty care, including various pediatric surgical care options. Tufts also provides a wide complement of surgical services for complex neonatal conditions.
Fellows complete their training at Tufts Medical Center, a 415-bed hospital providing a range of services from routine medical care to treating the most complex diseases affecting adults and children. Tufts Medical Center is home to 45 ACGME-accredited training programs and is the principal teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine. Starting the academic year 2022-2023, Fellows have been experiencing additional core NICU training at Boston Children's Hospital for one month per year, followed by a one-month rotation at the CTICU in their senior year.
A full spectrum of follow-up services for high-risk NICU graduates is provided at Tufts Medical Center for Children with Special Needs. Our NICU's High-Risk Infant Follow-Up Program provides comprehensive developmental evaluation services and follow-up assessments. Comprehensive training and research collaborations between Neonatology and Developmental Behavioral pediatrics allow for trainees to choose a combined fellowship in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.
Fellows as frontline physicians + educators
Our fellows form an integral part of our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and they are the core of NICU transport team. Fellows are the front-line physicians in every aspect of clinical care. The faculty and nurses are all invested in their training and education. Our clinical network enables us to expose our trainees to a high-risk population with a broad range of high-acuity diagnoses. Our network of hospitals also guarantees exposure to complex care and follow-up care. Complex surgical patients are co-managed with the surgical specialties with neonatal-perinatal fellows again being the frontline physicians.
Developing excellence as clinical educators is an integral part of the fellowship. As the Tufts Medical Center is the primary teaching hospital for Tufts University School of Medicine and the pediatrics residency program, fellows get ample opportunity to acquire and practice teaching, mentoring and leadership skills. Teaching opportunities include formal didactic teaching sessions, daily multidisciplinary new patient discussions in the NICU, and informal bedside teaching during daily rounds.