Pediatrics
Thank you for your interest in our residency program. We are very excited about our program, and we hope that you will share in our enthusiasm as you learn more about the program from this web site.
About the Program
The Grand Rapids Medical Education Partners/Michigan State University Pediatric Residency Program at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital offers a complete experience with community-acquired disease as well as specialty-oriented exposure to the broad array of pediatric disease that only a referral center can provide. With its affiliation with the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, it also offers the quality teaching faculty and educational experiences provided by a university-based residency.
Graduates of our program are fully prepared for a future in pediatrics, whether it be general practice, hospital medicine, or subspecialty training. Most importantly, our residents learn to take care of children and their families, not just diseases.
About Helen DeVos Children's Hospital
- Referral center for 37 Michigan counties
- More than 150 physicians in 40 pediatric specialties
- More than 7,600 inpatient admissions annually
- More than 190,000 outpatient visits annually
- More than 38,000 pediatric emergency department visits annually and Level I trauma center with pediatric surgeons available 24/7
- Nearly 9,000 surgeries a year
- One of the largest children’s cancer and blood disorders programs in the nation with more than 700 patient visits monthly
- West Michigan’s only bone marrow transplantation program
- Only pediatric radiology department in West Michigan with nearly 75,000 visits a year
- Expanded pediatric cardiology program including advanced interventional cardiology and electrophysiology
- Cardiovascular surgery for infants and children as well as adults with congenital or childhood-onset heart disease
- Comprehensive pediatric nephrology program including dialysis and kidney transplantation
- Only pediatric sleep disorder laboratory in West Michigan managed by pediatric pulmonary specialists
- Nation's 10th largest neonatal centers with more than 1200 babies admitted each year.
- One of only 115 nationally accredited cystic fibrosis care centers in the United States
- One of Michigan’s largest pediatric diabetes programs
- A team of child life specialists focused on kids’ developmental needs and innovative ways of reducing the anxiety of hospitalization
- Leader of Partners in Children’s Health, a network of hospitals throughout Michigan working together to improve the health of children and families
- More than 40 specialty clinics in Grand Rapids and throughout the region
- Lead agency for Safe Kids Greater Grand Rapids and Safe Kids Lakeshore Coalitions
- Only Children’s Miracle Network hospital in the western and northern areas of the state
- We have a Child Protection Team composed of 40 members from multiple disciplines which provides services for physically and sexually abused and neglected children on an inpatient and outpatient basis. This team has helped over 600 children annually since 1993.
With this size and patient population, HDVCH ranks in the top half of children's hospitals in terms of both inpatient admissions and outpatient care. However, with the involvement of community-based pediatricians and clinically-based specialists, Helen DeVos Children's Hospital never loses its community-based atmosphere.
Please check out the links to your left to learn more about the program, including the residents, the faculty, the curriculum and didactics, and elective opportunities.
Letter from Program Director
Congratulations on finding the best Pediatric residency program in the Midwest! Does that surprise you? Read on to learn why I believe this is true.
We serve large numbers of children, both in primary and subspecialty care. Your inpatient experience and your active continuity clinic will give you the opportunity to manage a great variety of sick and healthy children from birth to young adulthood. This translates into a rich and diverse educational experience for you through the entire spectrum of pediatric pathology.
We are, above all else, committed to preserving the educational integrity of your residency experience. We guarantee you protected block didactic time, caps on busy inpatient services, regularly scheduled teaching rounds, and pediatric hospitalists who are in the hospital twenty-four hours a day to help, supervise, and teach. Our entire teaching faculty provides superior, evidence-based, compassionate, comprehensive care to every child seen at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital, and we are committed to teaching you the same.
Our program provides you with some exciting opportunities to make a difference locally and regionally. For example, through your Advocacy rotation you will learn about the problems facing children in Grand Rapids and beyond, and will design and implement a small clinical project that will benefit a local child or family. In addition, you will hone your educator skills by supervising third and fourth year Michigan State University medical students during their Pediatric clerkship and senior electives at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital. We'll enrich your skills through a "Residents as Educators" curriculum. You will be invited to participate fully on a variety of hospital committees. This provides you the opportunity to make a difference here and learn skills that you can take to other hospital systems in the future.
We are privileged to provide you the benefits of both a community and academic residency program in one location. Our community origin provides close relationships and involvement with local pediatricians in an energetic, fun, and respectful atmosphere. Our affiliation with Michigan State University preserves high academic standards and exceptional researchers and resources within our hospital. This is a unique balance in which residents are the clear winners.
In July 2009, our program received a full 5- year reaccreditation from the ACGME, the longest term a pediatrics residency can receive. Only 1/3 of pediatrics residencies visited in 2009 received five year accreditation.
So, why haven't you heard of us before? When you visit us, you will undoubtedly join the countless people who tell us that we are a "hidden treasure" and "a well kept secret"! Don't be confused by the "community" label. We are a very academic, university affiliated residency program that exists in a supportive community that just happens to be the second largest city in the state of Michigan! Come take a look at what we have to offer. You'll be glad you did. We are eager to meet you, and look forward to our visit together!
Sincerely,
 |
Jeri Kessenich, M.D., FAAP |
Welcome from the Chief Residents
Thank you for taking the time to visit us. We are the Chief Pediatric Residents for the 2011-2012 academic year, and we hope this will help you gain insight into our residents, faculty, and why we truly enjoy being a part of this great residency program!
Kristin Will, MD
As my pediatric training here at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital is beginning to come full circle, I can honestly say that I feel well prepared and have met the goals and objectives I prepared for myself coming out of medical school, both professionally and personally. My roots are in Indiana where I attended Indiana State University followed by Indiana University School of Medicine. Having attended a very large medical school, I knew that I wanted to continue my residency in a hospital with diverse patients and subspecialists, but felt that I would personally be lost in most large programs. This residency has provided me with the best of both worlds. I feel competent in the clinical skills and knowledge I will bring to my outpatient practice next year, yet feel that my role as a wife and mother of three (adorable children ages 3yr, 3yr, and 9 months) has not had to take second place to my work. The faculty, fellow residents, and administration have been incredibly supportive while still holding high expectations and facilitating my growth as a clinician, leader, and person in general. I am excited about continuing my journey as co-chief this year and look forward to sharing more about this residency program with you in person!
Robert Budinsky, MD
I was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio and went on to receive my undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences with a concentration in Biology from Xaiver University in Cincinnati. I completed medical school at the University of Toledo College of Medicine in Toledo, Ohio. Away from the hospital, I'm easily distracted by anything that involves music and sports. I have season tickets to the Grand Rapids Symphony and I still cheer for The Ohio State Buckeyes (albeit more quietly now that I live in Michigan!). Since starting residency 3 years ago, I've had the opportunity to work with amazing physicians and made incredible friends, not to mention work with the most gifted program director, I wanted to train in a busy children's hospital that would expose me to a large variety of diseases while maintaining a spirit of personalized attention, flexibility, and support towards my education, career, and well-being. Helen DeVos Children's Hospital has provided this and so much more. In fact, I'm so excited to be here that I decided to stick around for a 4th year as a chief resident! After my chief year, I look forward to the challenges and rewards of a career in general pediatrics.
What an exciting time to be here and make history! We opened the doors to our brand new, state-of-the-art children's hospital in January 2011 and haven't looked back. Welcome to the new Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, a regional referral center that provides a wonderful blend of academic and community medicine devoted to infants, children, and adolescents. Our pediatric residency program provides a unique opportunity to care for a wide breadth of pediatric diseases with over 40 pediatric specialty services represented.
Resident input into our education and curriculum are highly valued, and we have the opportunity to participate in various committees that help shape residency academic goals. We have a weekly 4-hour block of didactic lectures each Monday that is considered protected time such that residents are free from rotation obligations. This includes a weekly board review and reading club that incorporates lecture topics. Other educational initiatives include the weekly pediatric Grand Rounds, weekly multidisciplinary case conference, bi-weekly morning report, bi-monthly journal club, and bi-monthly morbidity and mortality conference. Additionally, during elective months you can attend multidisciplinary conferences such as our pediatric cardiology or tumor board conferences.
In an effort to help shape the physician leaders of tomorrow, residents participate in a leadership curriculum that emphasizes effective communication and time management skills, along with programs about teaching, forming constructive feedback, giving presentations, and building curriculum vitae. Safety culture and quality improvement exposure are emphasized as we strive to be the safest children's hospital in the world. For those residents interested in private practice, community pediatricians present various facets of owning your own practice. There is also an intern lecture series led by senior residents which is a combination of didactic and a hands-on curriculum to help facilitate their transition to residency. Recognizing the need to always be prepared for any emergency, we use brand new simulation technology in the form of mock codes twice per month for all residents in addition to mock neonatal resuscitations during NICU rotations.
Scholarly activity has emerged as a residency requirement throughout many programs around the nation. We help you develop and present a research project in a stepwise fashion throughout your residency. GRMEP has its own research department that is full of resources to guide your project to completion. Our residents have gone on to receive research grants and present at national and international conferences which have included the AAP national and state conference, the Pediatric Academic Society Meeting, and the Irish and American Paediatric Academic Society Meeting. Many residents have published articles in top pediatric journals including Pediatrics in Review and Pediatrics.
Outside of the hospital we strive to give back to our community through various advocacy projects. There is a required advocacy month in which residents are assigned to a local school and teach students about topics such as healthy eating, dental care, and substance abuse. This month also allows for visiting local outreach agencies and homes of chronically ill children. We have an ongoing advocacy project entitled, “Bridging the Gap.” This program provides health education to middle-school aged students and their families. Topics have included oral health, asthma education, nutrition/obesity, and mental health.
We can't say enough about how much we love living in Grand Rapids. The large city has unique restaurants, concerts, sporting events, symphonies, and museums, and is a fun place for singles and families alike. You don't have to be an outdoor enthusiast to enjoy the beaches along beautiful Lake Michigan. A relaxing, peaceful day at the beach in Holland or Grand Haven can melt away some of the stresses of residency. West Michigan has a plethora of places for outdoor sports ranging from biking to skiing. If you enjoy road biking, you'll find plenty of great trails around the city including the White Pine Trail which travels north all the way to Cadillac.
We hope that you enjoy checking out the remainder of our website and consider making GRMEP/MSU your pediatric residency home! We would love to answer any further questions, so feel free to contact us at Robert.Budinsky@spectrumhealth.org or Kristin.Will@spectrumhealth.org.
Think all of this sounds too good to be true? Come see for yourself! We look forward to meeting you soon!