Fellowship
The Next Generation of Leaders in Pediatric Emergency Medicine
The Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) fellowship at the University of Utah/Primary Children's Hospital (PCH) places each fellow in a well-designed clinical, educational, and research program emphasizing the skills needed for future academic success.
This clinical and educational experience is complemented by instruction in research design and methods, leading to completion of original research projects.
Primary Children's Hospital is a high-acuity tertiary referral center for medical, surgical, and trauma care, with patients coming from large parts of six western states, and a catchment area of ten states including UT, NV, ID, MT, WY, WA, OR, AZ, CO, and NM. PCH’s SLC campus ED (Level 1 Trauma) sees about 45,000 patients annually, has 35 beds including multiple resuscitation and trauma bays, and also has an 18-bed short-stay observation unit. PCH's Lehi campus ED (Level 2 Trauma) opened in February 2024, has 19 beds including multiple resuscitation and trauma bays, and also has an adjacent short-stay observation unit.
The goal of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship program is to produce academically oriented PEM physicians with superb clinical skills and the ability to expand the field's knowledge base. The traditional PEM fellowship is a three-year program for pediatrics residency trained applicants, and a two-year program for emergency medicine residency trained applicants. Fellows acquire experience and skills to fulfill their maximal potential as a clinician, researcher, educator, or administrator. In addition to the traditional PEM fellowship tracks, we also offer a PEM-Global Health (PEM-GH) fellowship track, and a dual PEM-Child Abuse (PEM-CAP) fellowship program. Please see the links on this page for more information about PEM-GH and PEM-CAP.
Our fellowship has several features that make for a unique and enriching fellowship experience:
- We have a high acuity with a historical admission rate of >20%. This leads to a great clinical experience where fellows are actively involved in managing very sick and complicated patients.
- We have a very large catchment area covering >400,000 square miles. Fellows gain experience taking care of the sickest patients in the Intermountain West and learn how to provide medical control during pediatric resuscitation prior to arrival to a tertiary children’s hospital.
- We have an excellent trauma experience at Primary Children’s Hospital, a Level 1 Trauma Center. PEM fellows take an active role in leading resuscitations of trauma patients and performing critical procedures.
- The overarching goal of our Fellowship and the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine is to help our physicians pursue a meaningful career. Our attendings and fellows have a variety of clinical and academic interests and our Division has numerous resources available to help faculty and fellows pursue their career goals.
- Salt Lake City is an amazing place for work-life balance! Utah’s capitol city offers easy and fun living where fellows have access to a vibrant city life with restaurants, big-name concerts, major sporting events, museums, a renowned ballet company, Broadway shows, opera…all minutes from the hospital. Salt Lake City has unparalleled access to an amazing outdoors experience with immediate access to hiking and biking trails, and quick drives to multiple National Parks, National Forests, and world-class ski resorts.
Fellows' responsibilities go beyond patient care, including opportunities for teaching, research, and administration. The Division is very active in multiple areas throughout Primary Children’s Hospital, the community, and on state, national, and international levels:
- Pediatric transport
- Trauma care
- Resuscitation
- Injury prevention
- Disaster management
- Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)
- Outreach
- Global, rural, and underserved child health
- Child Advocacy
- Simulation
- POCUS
- Pediatric Telehealth
- PECARN (Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network)
The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine consists of PEM faculty, pediatricians, fellows, administrative staff, and research staff. Some faculty also have additional training:
- 1 Child Abuse Pediatrics trained
- 2 Sports Medicine trained
- 2 Emergency Medicine trained
- 1 Ultrasound fellowship trained
- 3 Global Health trained
- 3 with MBA
- 4 with MPH
- 1 with MSPH
Our PEM Division faculty include the following
- Pediatrics Residency Program Director
- Past President of AAP Utah Chapter
- Primary Children’s Hospital Medical Directors:
- Trauma
- Pediatric Life Flight
- Emergency Department
- Rapid Treatment Unit (Observation unit)
- Quality
- Disaster Preparedness
- Informatics
- Pediatric Specialty Services
- Outreach
- Pediatric Clinical Programs
- Associate Chief Medical Officer
