Patient care experiences are only part of your training as a resident in the VCU Med-Peds program. A robust series of conferences is in place to help supplement your education, encourage intellectual curiosity, and provide the skills needed for lifelong learning.
In addition to attending required conferences, all residents must engage in scholarship. Options that satisfy the scholarly project requirement include research projects, publication of a manuscript or book chapter, and presentation of an abstract, case report, or oral presentation at a local, regional, or national meeting.
Separate from scholarly pursuits, all residents also participate in annual quality and safety initiatives beginning in the second year of training.
Conference schedules
View the internal medicine conference schedule and pediatrics conference schedule for dates and times of recurring meetings.
Conference descriptions
Med-Peds ARCHway Conference
This monthly conference allows residents to explore clinical and other topics that are unique to med-peds practice. ARCHway is mnemonic for the four foci of conference: Adulthood Guide (encompasses career development and professionalism), Research and QI, Chronicles in Review (highlights interesting med-peds relevant journal articles and guideline changes), and Humanism in Medicine (aims to prompt discussion surrounding patient care topics, resiliency and self-care during residency). The conference format varies and includes guest speakers, panel discussions, practical demonstrations of medical technology and critically appraised topics.
Morning Report
Morning report is an open conference that focuses on the assessment and management of interesting patients admitted during the previous few days. Faculty, residents, and students are all encouraged to participate in the discussion, which is moderated by hospital attendings and chief residents.
Core Conference (medicine and pediatrics)
Core conferences are conducted during a 3-hour block on Tuesday afternoons. Conference time is protected for the majority of residents. During any given block, residents assigned to pediatric rotations attend the pediatric conference series, and residents rotating on medicine participate in the internal medicine conference series. Each department presents a coordinated, revolving curriculum that is organized by specialty topic. A variety of learning activities are incorporated into conferences, including didactic sessions, small group exercises, audience response systems, problem-based learning, and journal club.
Case Conference (pediatrics)
A senior-level resident will present an interesting case as an unknown. Residents and students are encouraged to participate in the discussion in order to develop a comprehensive differential diagnosis and management plan. Once the diagnosis is disclosed, the assigned resident will give a brief discussion of a salient or unusual aspect of the case. The supervising attending will provide additional comments/moderation of the discussion.
Med-Peds Housestaff Meeting
This monthly conference serves as the resident business meeting. Program information is discussed, and the meeting also serves as an open forum for resident feedback. It’s also a great opportunity to socialize with fellow residents.
Research Activities
Residents are encouraged to participate in ongoing projects and to develop their own areas of research interest under the supervision of a faculty member.
Third-year residents have the option to participate in the R2 Summer Series, a 4-week course that includes topics such as hypothesis formation, study and survey design, biostatistics and Institutional Review Board submission. Principles and skills learned during the course are applicable to laboratory, translational and clinical research, as well as research in quality improvement and medical education.
The pediatrics department sponsors an annual award for the best research by a resident, and pediatric grand rounds are devoted each spring to resident and fellow research presentations.