Division of Critical Care Medicine | Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program

Critical Care Medicine Graduation Ceremony, June 2024; Harvard Club, Boston, MA

Welcome from Program Director, Traci Wolbrink, MD, MPH

Welcome to the site for the Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School Critical Care Fellowship Program. 

We are currently an 18-fellow program representing a talented group of physicians from a diverse range of backgrounds. 

The fellowship program was established in 1981 with the primary objective to prepare fellows for a successful academic career in pediatric critical care medicine. Comprehensive clinical skills are developed in the Medical-Surgical, Cardiac, and Medicine Intensive Care Units, complemented by rotations in anesthesiology, neurointensive care, transport medicine and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy. Scholarly activity is also completed throughout all three years of training with guidance from the Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC).

Our educational vision for fellows training in our program is comprised of the following:

• To acquire the knowledge, skills and experience to comprehensively care for the critically ill or injured child and to successfully execute this care in a multidisciplinary intensive care unit

• To develop teaching skills necessary to share knowledge and experience to a multidisciplinary and multilevel audience in a variety of formal and informal settings

• To establish and develop a unique academic focus that leads to scholarly productivity and opportunities to advance the field of pediatric critical care medicine

• To participate in and develop leadership and administrative skills in both the clinical and non-clinical settings

We are committed to providing fellows with the experience, mentorship and support needed to develop a successful career. 

Traci Wolbrink, MD, MPH Program Director, Critical Care Medicine Fellowship

Jennifer Blumenthal, M.D.
Associate Program Director

Titles: Assistant in Critical Care Medicine; Assistant in Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics; Instructor in Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School; Medical School University of Alabama School of Medicine; Residency Boston Combined Residency Program (Boston Children’s Hospital/Boston Medical Center); Fellowship Boston Children’s Hospital (Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine)

Jill O’Hara, MD
Associate Program Director

Title: Assistant in Critical Care Medicine; Instructor in Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School; Medical School University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio; Residency Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Chief Resident); Fellowship Boston Children’s Hospital

Gregory Priebe, MD
Associate Program Director for research

Titles: Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine; Associate in Pediatrics, Division of Infectious Disease; Associate Program Director, Critical Care Medicine Fellowship; Associate Professor of Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School; Associate Member, Broad Institute; Medical School Harvard Medical School
Residency Boston Children’s Hospital; Fellowship Boston Children’s Hospital

Jennifer Perez, MD
Assistant Program Director for research

Titles: Assistant in Critical Care Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital; Instructor in Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School; Medical School University of Massachusetts Medical School; Residency Boston Combined Residency Program (Boston Children’s Hospital/Boston Medical Center); Fellowship Boston Children’s Hospital

Educational Curriculum

Our critical care fellows develop a strong, broad-based foundation of knowledge and skills in pediatric critical care, academic medicine, and leadership. This is achieved both through clinical roles working together with faculty and other members of the multidisciplinary team to provide high-quality direct clinical care, and engagement in a diverse curriculum that utilizes a variety of educational approaches. We are fortunate to have many dedicated clinician-educators and unique resources that allow us to develop and deliver high-quality bedside, simulation-based and online learning experiences. All our critical care faculty are active participants in delivering the curriculum, many elements of which are exclusively provided for our fellows. Our fellows have an active role in the planning and delivery of the curriculum. Our fellows present at and lead Division conferences and provide teaching experiences for medical students from Harvard Medical School and pediatric residents from the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics.

Some of our core conferences noted below:

• Fellows’ colloquium lecture series
• Ultrasound Curriculum
• Fellow procedural curriculum
• Simulation curriculum series
• CICU lecture series
• MSICU Case Conference  
• Neurocritical Conferences
• ECMO conference series
• Research and clinical protocols
• Evidence based medicine series
• Mortality conferences
• Morbidity conferences
• Topics in Anesthesia lecture series

Clinical Experiences for Fellows

Fellows in their first year, undergo clinical training in all three intensive care units, the
operating room and subspecialty rotations to expose Fellows to the full range of critically ill
patients. First-year Fellows spend time in the operating room specifically to accumulate airway,
vascular access, procedural and perioperative experience. In the second and third years of
training, Fellows assume progressively more responsibility and autonomy, leading work
rounds and overseeing the function of the ICU throughout the day and night.

Scholarly Activity and Academic Highlights

Directly adjacent to the Boston Children’s Hospital main campus, Harvard Medical School
offers an incredible variety of research and service opportunities created by the unique
synergy between HMS, our many Boston-based affiliate institutions, MIT, and renowned
partner institutions around the world. The scientific environment at Boston Children’s Hospital is highly conducive to fostering successful physician-scientists.

Each year, our fellows are paired with mentors within and outside our division for their Scholarly activity for fellowship and hopefully for career-long working relationships. A map of their time with us is developed, and over the course of their fellowship, a research project is completed. Our fellows benefit from mentors who have experience in this particular role and are eager to help fellows reach their next research milestone.
 
Our fellows are overseen by multiple layers to ensure their academic success including our program director, Traci Wolbrink, our program associates for research, Jennifer Perez and Gregory Priebe, and their individual Scholarly Oversight Committee assigned to each fellow.

For more details on scholarly requirements for board eligibility, please see the American Board of Pediatrics General Criteria for Subspecialty Certification.

https://www.childrenshospital.org/departments/critical-care-medicine/critical-care-medicine-fellows

Senior Fellowships

As a department, we remain deeply committed to the critical mission of teaching, learning, and innovation in our rich environment. We are happy to consider further senior fellowship tracts which utilize our many resources for fostering and building leaders in our field. Please reach out to our senior fellowship team with questions or considerations.

Extracorporeal Life Support senior fellowship

Neurocritical Care senior fellowship

Jennifer.Blumenthal@childrens.harvard.edu – director of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine senior fellowships

Thank you for your interest in the Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. We accept applications electronically through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) on the July application cycle for categorical positions.

We participate in the NRMP Match program (National Resident Matching Program) on the Pediatric Specialties Fall Match cycle for fellowships. To register, please see instructions for applicants under “Fellowship”.

ERAS opens for applications in June each year, and programs receive applications in mid-July.
 Applicants are encouraged to complete applications as soon as possible, which affords ample time for the program to review all applications and schedule interviews. Interviews are held between September and Late October/Early November, before the December match date. Matched applicants typically begin fellowship training the following July.

Applications should include the following documents via ERAS:

• ERAS Common Application Form
• Curriculum vitae
• Personal statement
• 3 letters of recommendation
• Official medical school transcript
• USMLE transcript to include USMLE III, or COMLEX equivalent
• Photo
• Any other ERAS-required item
• ECFMG certification report (international medical graduates only)

Applicants must have graduated from an ACGME-accredited Pediatrics or Medicine-Pediatrics residency program in the United States, or accredited Canadian equivalent. We prefer applicants who will be board-eligible or certified in Pediatrics as determined by the American Board of Pediatrics.

International Medical Graduates:
Applicants must be ECFMG certified. Our hospital can sponsor J1-ECFMG and H1B visas for competitive applicants. To apply through ERAS click here: ECFMG ERAS Support

If you have any questions please contact Mary McAvoy, Fellowship Coordinator –mary.mcavoy@childrens.harvard.edu

Thank you again for your interest in our program. We are excited to speak with you.

Contact Us

If you have any questions please contact Mary McAvoy, Fellowship Coordinator –mary.mcavoy@childrens.harvard.edu who can further direct your email!