Pediatric Residency Program - Riyadh | King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre

Pediatric Residency Program - Riyadh

Program Overview

King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) was created as a top referral institution to provide specialized medical care for Saudi citizens, eliminating the need for treatment abroad. It was inaugurated on 23 April 1975. The Department of Pediatrics was then an initial part of the KFSHRC. From 1975 to 1978 there were only six specialized pediatric physicians. After more than thirty years of existence, the Department of Pediatrics is one of the largest medical departments at KFSH&RC. Currently, more than 40 well-trained subspecialized consultants contribute to patient care in our department.

The Department Sections include:

General Pediatrics
Allergy/ Immunology
Endocrinology/ Diabetes
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Infectious Diseases
Neonatal Critical Care
Pediatric Critical Care
Pulmonology
Rheumatology
Nephrology

In addition, having other departments such as medical genetics, pediatric hematology/oncology, pediatric neurology, pediatric cardiology, and other specialized pediatric departments with the presence of supportive allied health care providers such as social workers, respiratory therapists, clinical pharmacists, etc., and the presence of specialized pediatric nurses made the hospital a unique educational institute that provides the utmost patient care. As the hospital is equipped with world-renowned pathology & laboratory diagnostic services, pediatric medical imaging services, and state-of-art Health Information Technology, and with the above-mentioned factors made our residency program ideal for training in the field of pediatrics. With close to 3,000 new referrals, 25,000 outpatient visits, and more than 2,500 admissions annually, our department has very rich clinical exposures that enhances residency training.

Welcome Message

Welcome to Pediatric Residency Training Program at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh!

Our objective is to provide an outstanding education in pediatrics while delivering the highest caliber of patient care and fostering the value of social responsibility.

All Consultants in the Department of Pediatrics are committed to the residents and serve as teachers, models, and mentors. Throughout your 4-year training, you will have a unique experience in pediatrics with exposure to a wide range of pathology that is not seen elsewhere.

During your tenure as a pediatric resident, you will work in a rich educational environment in the form of clinical bedside teachings, case discussions, clinical conferences, grand rounds, radiology conferences, and journal clubs, among others.

Basically, we want each and every resident of our Pediatric Residency Training Program to be a successful physician. It is our job and philosophy to guide trainees to define success and reach their goals.

Dr. Fadiah Al khattabi, MBA, FAAP

The program director of pediatric residency

PROGRAM MISSION AND VISION

Vision

Enriched with vast experience in postgraduate medical education, the Pediatric Residency Training Program will continuously provide the Kingdom with competent graduates in the field of pediatrics and be recognized in excellence in terms of quality and outcomes of training in the field of pediatrics.

Mission

To educate resident training physicians to achieve their career goals and develop a foundation for a rewarding profession in pediatrics by promoting clinical practice with accountable responsibility in patient care emphasizing a well-balanced, hands-on experience, comprehensive medical judgment, professionalism, and commitment to persistent learning in pediatrics.

To prepare resident training physicians to become experts in the field of pediatrics not only as clinicians, but trainers, researchers, and advocates by stimulating and developing their excellence and responsibility in patient care, critical thinking, competence, medical judgment, and commitment to continuous learning.

Educational Activities

We are among the most active programs in terms of academic activities. Many of our regular weekly activities encourage interaction between pediatric residents, fellows, and consultants. Daily morning reports have been acknowledged as among the top educational activities where senior and junior residents discuss with the consultant's history and physical exam findings of selected cases to enhance residents’ abilities in clinical approaches to various pediatrics presentations. Weekly activity includes: Grand Rounds, Morning Report, Clinical Conferences, Pediatric Collaborative Practice Group Meeting, Radiology Conference, Research Project Activity, and Journal Club.

Teaching time is protected. Weekly, well-structured, and time-protected academic half-day represent the skeleton of our formal educational activities. The content includes variable teaching methods (interactive tutorials, lectures, workshops, MCQs, and radiology rounds) the content has been carefully designed to cover all areas of pediatrics. Bedside Teaching is also supported in our program in a regular basis.

Residents are involved in the process of planning and delivery of educational activities under the supervision of the consultants, which will develop their supervisor skills. It provides instant feedback on how to improve the content and conduct of activities. This will ensure the active participation of all residents in educational activities and enhance the exchange of experience.

Pediatric Intensive Review Courses are held every year and hosted by the Department of Pediatrics at KFSH&RC and offered for residents in their final year of training including Gulf countries.

Research

KFSH&RC represents a rich environment for scholarly activities. Thus, the pediatric department introduced a research unit to support research productivity. Additionally, the Residency program initiated Residents-Research-promotion committee to facilitate residents’ involvement in research projects. This committee works on matching residents with clinician investigators in our department to enhance research mentorship and thus improve research productivity by residents. This committee facilitates the participation of residents in educational activities that is related to research and evidence-based medicine. This has resulted in improving the quantity and quality of research conducted by residents.

Over the past years, our department was recognized as the top program in terms of participation in the hospital's “Resident Research Day” and was among the top rewarded programs. Among the other achievements that some of our trainees managed to publish their research and some had the experience of abstract presentation at international conferences from research projects supported by our program. Our program provides grants to support research activity and sponsors participation in international conferences to present research projects. The Residents’ Research Day is raised for qualified research to be competed in oral or poster presentations with promising recognitions and prizes.

In December 2019, the Pediatric Residency Training Program launched the 1st Basic Clinical Research Skills Course. To enhance the research skills and ethics of the residents, with the assistance of specialized researchers, biostatisticians, consultants and an ethics team, the same course was offered in 2020 and almost certainly will be done yearly.

The Pediatric Department with the support of the Academic & Training Affairs has established the International Journal of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. It enhanced the stand position of our Department as well as our Program as a leading center for child health in the region. This will also develop the research activities and publication of local experience.