The first pediatric surgical resident, Barry Berch, M.D., began July 1,
and has already begun training in pediatric surgical cases.
Pediatric surgery training program gains approval
The application to establish a surgical residency program in the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt was recently approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Training's Residency Review Committee.
“This is the result of a great deal of work by our faculty and is certainly the beginning of an exciting phase in the evolution of pediatric surgery at Children's Hospital,” said Wallace Neblett III, M.D., chair of Pediatric Surgery and director of the pediatric surgical residency program.
“Thanks go especially to Bo Lovvorn, Jim O'Neill and Jennifer Wilkins for their efforts in organizing the application.”
The pediatric surgical residency program at Children's Hospital is one of 34 in the nation accredited by the ACGME, and the criteria are stringent. In Tennessee, only one other Children's Hospital, LeBonheur Children's Medical Center in Memphis, has such a program.
Each year, the department will accept one resident for a two-year training period. On July 1, the first resident, Barry Berch, M.D., began his training. Residents will be trained in general and thoracic pediatric surgery and additionally exposed to the pediatric disciplines of trauma, burn, urology and neonatology.
“Residents will receive a broad spectrum of training, and will participate in a wide variety of surgical procedures, Neblett said. “Technological advances have resulted in a steady increase in the scope of our practice and the number of surgical patients in our institution has increased substantially.”
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is responsible for the accreditation of post-medical degree medical training programs within the United States. Accreditation is accomplished through a peer review process and is based upon established standards and guidelines.