Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Training Program

The Advocate Lutheran General Children's Hospital (ALGCH) Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) training program was established in 1991. The three year program is accredited by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) for three PCCM fellows.

Purpose of the Training Program

The purpose of the fellowship is to train knowledgeable pediatric intensivists competent in the comprehensive management of any life-threatening condition in children and young adults.

This includes in-depth training in:

• Various modes of advanced life support and cardiopulmonary resuscitation
• Transport
• Triage and trauma
• Sophisticated support of the respiratory, circulatory, and neurological systems
• Management of renal and hepatic failure
• Treatment of poisoning
• Hematological and infectious problems
• Continuous monitoring
• Nutritional support.

Tertiary-Care Pediatrics
A diverse patient base with a wide range of pediatric pathologies exposes the PCCM fellow to the broad spectrum of tertiary-care pediatrics. Under the supervision of the PCCM attendings, the fellow directs the care of every patient admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at ALGCH. The fellow also participates in the care of less acutely ill patients admitted to the Pediatric Intermediate Care Center (PICC). Additional experience is gained in the Pediatric Surgical Heart Unit at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital, actively caring for patients with congenital heart disease, and in the transplant unit at Children’s Memorial Hospital treating children with solid-organ and bowel transplants. Portions of the PCCM fellow’s training are spent in anesthesia, surgery, emergency medicine, and neonatology.

Clinical Research
Intensive introduction to the principles of basic-science and clinical research is an integral part of the fellowship. The fellow may choose to pursue basic science research at The Midwestern University of the Medical Sciences, where a full-time faculty member of the College of Pharmacy is dedicated to the fellowship program. Clinical research may be undertaken under the direction of pediatric intensivists or other subspecialists.