Residency Program-Los Angeles and Beyond

Link to UCLA COMMUNITY HEALTH AND ADVOCACY
Training Program in Pediatrics web site

UCLA Tri-Campus COMMUNITY HEALTH AND ADVOCACY
Training Program in Pediatrics

What is the Community Health and Advocacy Training (CHAT) Program in Pediatrics at the UCLA Tri-Campus Program?

This is an exciting program at UCLA which trains pediatric residents to be advocates for children in schools and the community. Pediatricians can be instrumental in efforts to create, organize, and implement changes in communities; and these efforts can substantially improve the health of children. This training program will produce pediatricians with the knowledge and skills to be these change agents.

What are the goals of the Community Health and Advocacy Training Program in Pediatrics?

Our goal is to provide a new model for residency training in pediatrics, focused largely on community settings. CHAT residents will share the same basic curriculum as the categorical pediatric residents at UCLA. Another or additional emphasis of the overall residency experience will be focused on developing traditionally non-clinical skills, such as child advocacy and health education and promotion. This will foster greater understanding of school-based health, learning and behavior problems, and public health issues. The CHAT residents will also learn basic research skills in community and public health and gain experience in developing and assessubg health policies.

Where will the training for the residents of this program take place?

We have a community collaborative in Mar Vista, an underserved neighborhood approximately seven miles from the UCLA Westwood campus. Major partners in this collaborative are: Westside Children’s Center (a community-based family resource center), Venice Family Clinic, and the Los Angeles Unified School District (more specifically, Braddock Elementary, Stoner Avenue Elementary, and Marina Middle Schools). The CHAT faculty is committed to addressing the child health needs of this neighborhood. In addition to providing pediatric health services to this underserved community, our faculty, residents, and fellows will also be providing resources such as health education, learning and behavior assessments, and service coordination.

How is this program different from the UCLA Tri-Campus categorical program?

The framework and context for residency training in the CHAT program are community settings and public health. Therefore, CHAT residents will have their continuity clinics in the community, at the Simms-Mann Health and Wellness Center.

Although the basic rotations between the two programs are similar (Wards, NICU, PICU, ER, etc.), the CHAT residents participate in slightly fewer inpatient rotations than the categorical residents. This is to allow for participation in the CHAT curriculum, which consists of one month each year of residency.

In addition to having continuity clinic in the community, the CHAT residents are responsible for doing a longitudinal community project over the course of the three years of residency. This will involve an on-going relationship with and commitment to their community site to develop programs, provide health education, or other needs that the site might identify. The scope of the project is flexible to the interests of the residents, and the emphasis is on the process of design and implementation rather than the final product.

Finally, our third-year residents will give a Senior Grand Rounds presentation to their colleagues and the pediatric faculty about their experiences with their community site. They will also have the opportunity to have an elective in community resource mapping at the end of their third-year at the place in which they plan to practice upon graduation.

Who should apply?

Applicants should demonstrate an interest in community-based medicine, such as public health, child advocacy, or school-based health education in their personal statements. Previous experience in community projects or organizations is beneficial but not required.

Core Faculty and Contact Information:

Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, MEd, Program Director
Wendy Slusser, MD, MPH, Program Co-Director

Tricia Barreto, MD, MPH

Victor Perez, MD, MPH

Karen Fond, PNP, MSN