Pediatric Residency Mentoring and Advising
An additional benefit to being a pediatric resident is access to mentorship and advising.
Mentoring and Advising - Group Photo Heading link
Types of Support Heading link
Faculty Advisors
All residents are paired with a faculty member from the Department of Pediatrics to serve as their advisor for the duration of their residency. These faculty receive guidance and training on how to serve as mentors. In addition to meeting with the program directors twice per year, residents meet with their advisors at least twice per year. Faculty advisors are available to assist with schedule building, research questions, career advisor and more. We hope that these relationships provide support for our residents both in and out of the hospital.
Resident Mentoring
Interns are given a senior resident buddy after Match. The senior residents are available to assist incoming interns with advice about housing, life in Chicago, tips for starting residency and much more. Interns are provided coaching from senior residents on the first day of many of their first-year rotations (Wards, Newborn, ED, Continuity Clinic) to help learn workflow and efficiency tips from experienced residents.
Career Mentoring
Approximately 50% of our residents pursue general pediatrics and 50% pursue fellowship training with variation from year to year. On top of fantastic mentorship from faculty members across the Department of Pediatrics, UIC offers a career development curriculum that is applicable to either career path. The curriculum consists of quarterly lectures including but not limited to topics such as “How do I find a Job,” “CV and Personal Statement/Cover Letter Development,” “Board Preparation,” and “Contract Negotiation.” Residents are also offered the opportunity to attend fellowship and general pediatric career panels (held at least twice annually) where they are able to speak with UIC Pediatrics graduates about their career path, why they chose their field and what advice they have for interested residents. These panels also offer opportunities for first and second year residents to be exposed to the many career paths available in pediatric medicine. Mock Interviews are offered in the summer for fellowship applicants and winter for general pediatric applicants, which provides residents the opportunity to receive feedback prior to the actual interview and practice answering many commonly asked questions. CV, cover letter, and personal statement review occur throughout the year for any resident interested in this additional help. Overall, it is our goal that residents feel confident throughout their job search and fellowship applications and have all the resources they need to be a successful candidate.
Medical Student Mentoring
Residents at all levels have the opportunity to serve as mentors to UIC first and second-year medical students through the Mentors Program. Through this program, residents are assigned 1-3 M1 students. They provide students with shadowing opportunities, and meet regularly to advise students. The experience culminates in assisting students create a Poster presentation based on an interesting case that the resident has seen in their training.
Residents gain experience teaching and mentoring undergraduate medical students, and students have the opportunity to learn about various career opportunities and clinical medicine. This is one of several mentoring opportunities for residents to participate in through the UIC College of Medicine.