The Division of Newborn Medicine at the Floating Hospital for Children welcomes your interest in our Fellowship Program. Our three-year program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education. We emphasize a scholarly approach to medicine and encourage personal and professional growth in a cohesive, collegial environment.
Fellows who successfully complete our program are eligible for the subspecialty certifying examination in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine administered by the American Board of Pediatrics.
The Division of Newborn Medicine has longstanding partnerships in perinatal care and collaborative research with Tufts Medical Center's Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Division of Medical Genetics.The obstetrical service at Tufts Medical Center has a strong emphasis on prenatal diagnosis and high-risk obstetrics, and delivers approximately 1,600 babies each year. The close professional ties between the fellows and faculty of the three divisions allow for innovative research, diagnosis, and therapy of the fetus and newborn at the Floating Hospital, resulting in a superb multidisciplinary training environment for our fellows.
A full spectrum of follow-up services for high-risk NICU graduates is provided at Floating Hospital's Center for Children with Special Needs under the direction of Dr. Ellen Perrin, former president of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Our NICU's High-Risk Infant Follow-Up Clinic provides comprehensive developmental evaluation services and follow-up assessments for randomized trials.
National Institutes of Health - funded research facilities in molecular and developmental biology associated with the Division of Newborn Medicine include the Newborn Medicine Developmental Cell Biology Research Laboratories, under the direction of Dr. Heber Nielsen, and the Genetics Research Laboratory, directed by Dr. Diana Bianchi.
In addition, fellows have the opportunity to work in any of the laboratories associated with the Program in Cell, Molecular and Developmental Biology, offered through the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences and headed by John Castellot, PhD. Faculty and fellows in the Division of Newborn Medicine are also members of other major research facilities in surrounding Divisions and medical institutions, including the Division of Infectious Disease and Geographic Medicine, the Lifespan/Tufts/Brown NIH Center for AIDS Research, the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, Tufts University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Boston University School of Medicine.
The Floating Hospital's Division of Newborn Medicine has a longstanding history of participation in multicenter clinical trials and NIH-funded clinical investigation. In addition, structured training in study design, epidemiology, clinical investigation, and health policy research is available for fellows interested in systematic pursuit of a career in clinical research through Tufts Medical Center’s Research Division.
The fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine may be combined with a Master of Science in Clinical Care Research, a Master's Degree in Public Health at Tufts University School of Medicine or Boston University School of Public Health, or training in clinical nutrition at the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy and the Frances Stern Nutrition Center. Fellows enjoy access to extensive reference, computer, and multimedia resources within the Division of Newborn Medicine and at the Tufts University Health Sciences Library, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences, and Tufts University School of Medicine.
The fellowship program in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine may be combined with subspecialty training in either Medical Genetics or in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics at the Floating Hospital for Children. Fellows successfully completing these training programs are eligible for certifying examination in both subspecialties.
Members of the Division of Newborn Medicine are involved in collaborative research and training efforts with colleagues in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, and Kosovo. Members of the Floating Hospital's Division of Newborn Medicine, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development, coordinate teaching programs that provide training in neonatal resuscitation and neonatal intensive care to several hospitals in these countries.
Affiliated Hospital Nurseries
The Division of Newborn Medicine maintains close affiliation with nurseries at other hospitals in the greater metropolitan Boston area. The fellowship program may include rotations at Boston Medical Center, a 17-bed level IIIB neonatal ICU in a high-risk catchment area of Boston with 240 admissions per year, or at level II nurseries at Lowell General, Lawrence General and Melrose-Wakefield Hospitals, where Division members provide attending coverage. We also offer on-site consultation services at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth.
Curriculum
Twelve months of the three-year fellowship are devoted to clinical service. The clinical experience at the Floating Hospital for Children offers the opportunity to master advanced techniques while acquiring a sound foundation in the fundamentals of neonatal physiology, evidence-based intensive care management, neonatal triage/transport, and convalescent care. Service months and call are distributed throughout the three years, but are weighted toward the first year.
During the first year clinical rotations, fellows concentrate on developing a broad fund of knowledge while honing their technical and supervisory skills. They work closely with the attending neonatologists in overseeing care for all infants in the neonatal ICU, including co-management or consultation on neonatal surgical patients and infants hospitalized outside the neonatal ICU. NICU rotations provide a supportive environment for fellows to develop academic leadership and teaching skills while collaborating with medical students, pediatric house staff, and neonatal nurse practitioners. With attending support, fellows acquire proficiency in effective, sensitive communication by assisting and guiding families in times of ethical dilemma and bereavement.
Rotations on the antenatal consultation service offer daily collaborative interaction with the Maternal-Fetal Medicine service and provide exposure to perinatal physiology, diagnosis and intervention. While on the antenatal consultation service fellows supervise delivery room resuscitation and stabilization for all high-risk infants, and participate in the Infant Follow-Up Program.
During the second and third years clinical responsibilities are reduced as research endeavors become established. Fellows continue to develop their knowledge of advanced topics in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and enhance their academic leadership and teaching skills. Senior fellows have the option of pursuing clinical electives in ECMO, maternal-fetal medicine, pediatric cardiology, or level II care as part of their 12 months of clinical training.
Conferences and Scheduled Teaching
The Division of Newborn Medicine maintains an atmosphere of inquiry and evidence-based practice through regular seminars, journal clubs, and presentations on a variety of clinical and investigational topics. Fellows may attend and contribute to a core lecture series on neonatal intensive care that is offered regularly throughout the year. In addition, focused lecture series on advanced topics in neonatal medicine are offered specifically to enhance fund of knowledge in preparation for subspecialty certification examination. The Division also holds a number of educational weekly conferences.
Research Opportunities and Training
Fellows in the Division of Newborn Medicine enjoy a broad variety of research opportunities in developmental biology, perinatal epidemiology, molecular biology, genetics, outcomes research, and clinical investigation. The goal of the Fellowship Program’s research training is to provide a foundation for successful independent inquiry by focusing and developing research interests and skills in a supportive, collegial environment. Careful mentoring, structured didactic sessions and regular research conferences can be supplemented with a wealth of resources from the Tufts Medical Center community, allowing each fellow's training to be tailored to individual goals.
1st year
Research endeavors begin early in the 1st year, but are paced gradually to accommodate clinical responsibilities. An initial orientation to the Division's research environment is followed by selection of an academic mentor. Fellows may choose their mentor from among the faculty of the Division of Newborn Medicine, other faculty in the Department of Pediatrics or other departments in the Tufts University School of Medicine, other research institutions in the Tufts University Health Sciences Campus, or other Boston academic institutions. Thereafter, fellows devote the remainder of their first year to acquiring greater familiarity with the literature and methods in their chosen area of research, and to initial investigations that focus specific research interests and questions. Early experiments provide the opportunity for training and experience in data management, analysis, and interpretation, and the results may be used for initial efforts at preparation of abstracts and research presentations for peers within the Division. We encourage fellows to attend a regional and/or national research conference during the first year.
Second and third years
In the second and third years of fellowship clinical responsibilities are reduced, and there is an increased emphasis on research. Fellows acquire advanced experience and training in data evaluation and interpretation. As initial experiments are completed and facility with the research literature grows, fellows begin to build on existing results by developing and designing new research projects. The second and third years also provide more focused training in preparation of abstracts and manuscripts, including facile integration of computer resources in academic work. During this phase of training fellows are encouraged to undertake initial efforts at preparation of grants, and may begin pursuit of funds to extend structured research training into the junior faculty years if they wish. During the second or third years, fellows are encouraged to present their research at regional and/or national conferences.
Application and Interview Process
Electronic Applications
The Division of Newborn Medicine participates in the ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) match program. To apply online for the Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Training Program, please visit the ERAS website for more information.
Required Documents via ERAS
Please include the following with your application (through ERAS):
- ERAS application (CAF)
- 3-4 letters of recommendation (LoRs)
- Must include:
- one letter from your residency program director
- one letter from a neonatology faculty member
- Strongly suggested:
- one letter from another critical care specialist
- Personal statement including a description of research interests and career goals
- Current curriculum vitae
- Medical student performance evaluation/Dean's letter
- Wallet-size color photograph
- USMLE transcripts or COMLEX transcripts (transmitted by the NBME)
- ECFMG status report (only for International Medical Graduates)
Matching Program
Applicants must register with the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). For information, visit the NRMP web site.
Interview
After applications are thoroughly reviewed, qualified candidates will be contacted for a personal interview. The interview involves several of the faculty and fellows of the division. If the candidate has a specific research interest, every effort will be made to include faculty in that area during the visit.
Deadlines
Admission to Tufts Medical Center’s Program is competitive, so applicants are encouraged to apply early. We generally match three qualified trainees per year. The deadline to apply is May 31. Applications can be submitted beginning November 15 of the prior year.
Contact Us
Direct application materials and inquiries to:
Christiane E.L. Dammann, MD
Director, Training Program in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
ATT: Katie Leicht, Fellowship Coordinator
Division of Newborn Medicine
Floating Hospital for Children
800 Washington Street, Tufts Medical Center #44
Boston, MA 02111 USA
e-mail: cdammann@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
e-mail: kleicht@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
Division main telephone number: 617-636-5322
Division fax number: 617-636-1456