PRE-CONFERENCE PROGRAMS

Fellows Core Curriculum Workshop – Track I

10:30 am – Writing Your First Paper – How To Make Sure It Gets Accepted – (Dimitri Christakis)

Writing your first paper is a challenge. In this session, we will discuss how to get started – from properly formatting a draft to selecting the right journal. We will review all aspects of a paper, including the abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, tables, figures, and references. Authorship issues and how to help reviewers appreciate the importance of your paper will be discussed. Peer-reviewed papers are an important ingredient in academic success. At the end of this session, the goal is to ensure that you will be more comfortable submitting your first paper.

12:00pm Break

12:15 pm Fundamentals of Quality Improvement: How to Do QI – Rajendu Srivastava and Samir Shah)

This session will be helpful to those participating in or planning quality improvement/patient safety projects, but who have little to modest experience or training in QI science. The session will include a survey of common over-arching QI methodologies (eg, lean engineering, the model for improvement, process control), specific QI strategies (eg, standardization, error-proofing, checklists, iterative PDSAs), issues around quality measures (eg, outcome measures, process measures, balancing measures), and a very brief introduction into broad but related concepts (eg, scoping, high-reliability organizations, safety culture). Small groups will take example quality/safety problems, explore possible QI approaches, plan interventions and interpret mock data. Participants will be encouraged to see how particular problems may suggest very fitting QI approaches, just as a particular QI approach may suggest very fitting analytic methods.

1:45 pm Lunch Break (box lunch provided)

2:30 pm Effective, Efficient, and Innovative Teaching as a Fellow – (Lewis First)

With increasing pressures to learn the knowledge, skills, and other competencies required for fellowship training, the teaching of medical students and residents has the tendency to become less of a priority at this level of training. Yet fellows are frequently called upon to teach trainees in the inpatient and outpatient settings. Effective, efficient, and innovative teaching strategies are needed, and this workshop will provide attendees with such strategies. A variety of teaching techniques including the use of ‘trigger’ videotapes, live demonstrations, and discussion will be used to highlight key take-home concepts that are designed to improve the teaching skills of participants.

4:00 pm Closing

Core Curriculum Fellows Workshop – Track II

10:30 am From Idea to Implementation: Navigating the Ethical Landscape of Pediatric Clinical Research – (Armand Antommaria)

This session will explore the challenges in designing and implementing a pediatric clinical research protocol using case studies (with participant analysis and discussion) to illustrate the following topics: What are the appropriate limits of risk exposure to a child if the intervention does not offer any prospect of direct benefit? What data are necessary to establish whether there is a sufficient prospect of direct benefit to justify the risks of an intervention? How does one design and assess a protocol that contains multiple interventions and procedures? How should one approach obtain child assent and parental permission for research participation based on the developmental age of the child? By the end of the session, participants will be familiar with key concepts in pediatric research ethics, including minimal risk, a minor increase over minimal risk, component analysis, the prospect of direct benefit, and extrapolation. Ideally, participants should come prepared with a hypothetical clinical research idea, including an intervention, patient population, and endpoints, so that the material can be applied in the discussion to a relevant example drawn from personal clinical and/or research experience.

12:00 pm Break

12:15 pm Recognizing Common Bio-statistical Errors – (Valerie Flaherman and Thomas Newman)

Fellows must be aware of bio-statistical errors in the literature. Recognition will help researchers prevent similar errors in their own scientific work. Case vignettes will be used to highlight common errors. The errors discussed may include standard error vs. standard deviation, non-independence, use of paired measurements, the meaning of P-values, confidence intervals.

1:45 pm Lunch Break (box lunch provided)

2:30 pm Grant Writing – Key Components and Strategies for Success – (Kurt Albertine and Cynthia Minkovitz)

Grant writing is a critical skill for many fellows and faculty. While the details of funding applications vary, there are many common elements across funding sources and shared strategies for success. The objectives of the session are: 1) to demystify the grant application process; 2) identify potential funding sources for new investigators; 3) consider key components of grant applications, and 4) discuss strategies for success.

4:00 pm Closing

Core Curriculum Fellows Workshop – Track III

10:30 am Finding Your Passion and Your Purpose – (Mary Clyde Pierce and Michelle Macy)

What gets you out of bed in the morning? or keeps you up at night? In this interactive session, we will prompt you to think and reflect on what motivates you. By the end of the session, you will have a better sense of how to cultivate passion through purposeful action in your career as a pediatric specialist.

12:00 pm Break

12:15 pm Negotiation 101 – (Vincent Chang)

Congratulations! You are finishing a fellowship and have just been offered a new job. You are about to meet with your future boss to discuss your position. Now, what happens? The reality is that for most of us, we have no idea. As clinicians, most of us were never taught the basics of how to negotiate. Negotiation 101 will introduce you to some of these nuts-and-bolts skills. First, workshop participants will pair off and negotiate a deal. We will then regroup and see how everyone did. We’ll use this exercise to introduce some basic negotiation concepts BATNA, ZOPA, and reservation value. We’ll also try to answer the question of “is it better to make the first offer or respond to a first offer?” (Answer – it depends). We will then take the lessons learned from the negotiation exercise and apply them to the academic medical setting. We’ll try to cover questions such as “What is negotiable and what isn’t?” and “What are the things that I don’t even know to discuss or to ask for?” Finally, we’ll end the workshop by doing a few self-reflection exercises to help figure out what one may want out of a career. Knowing what you actually want is the first (and possibly most important step) in the negotiation process.

1:45 pm Lunch Break (box lunch provided)

2:30 pm Having Difficult Conversations –  (Javier Gonzalez)

During this presentation, participants will be introduced to basic principles of verbal and non-verbal communication, conflict resolution techniques, and a structured process to help understand how to approach difficult conversations and negotiations.

4:00 pm Closing

Neonatal Pulmonology and Resuscitation: What is new in newborn resuscitation?

Description: Neonatal resuscitation program has had a significant impact in educating providers and reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity over the last three decades. This postgraduate course addresses several controversial areas and the science behind resuscitation guidelines. The speakers have considerable expertise in the field of neonatal resuscitation.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the global burden of neonatal morbidity and mortality and the impact of effective resuscitation.
• Review current neonatal resuscitation program guidelines and the science behind these recommendations.
• Explore the knowledge gaps and identify future avenues for research in neonatal resuscitation.

Target Audience: Neonatologists, Pediatricians, neonatal fellows and residents, respiratory therapists, and advanced practice providers

Moderators: Beena Kamath-Rayne and Satyan Lakshminrusimha

8:00am – Neonatal Resuscitation: Here, There, Everywhere – Beena Kamath-Rayne, American Academy of Pediatrics

8:30am – Science of Postnatal Meconium Management – Marya Strand, St. Louis University, St. Louis, USA

9:00 am – Concepts and Controversies in Umbilical Cord Management – Anup Katheria, Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns, San Diego USA

9:30am – Ventilation in the Delivery Room – Elizabeth Foglia, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, USA

10:00am –15 min break

10:15am – Oxygenation – Satyan Lakshminrusimha, UC Davis, Sacramento, USA

10:45am – Chest compressions – Myra Wyckoff, UT Southwestern, Dallas, USA

11:15am – Medication Use in Neonatal Resuscitation – Tetsuya Isayama, National Center for Child Health and Development, Tokyo, Japan

11:45am – Open discussion

Neonatal Neurology: Preterm Brain Injury

Description: This postgraduate course will address several important areas in preterm brain injury, including critical periods of brain development, mechanisms of brain injury or maldevelopment, including the role of cerebellar injury, the placenta, seizures, nutrition, the gut microbiome, and the long term effects of pain. This will be a stimulating update on these issues.

Learning Objectives:

• Review critical windows of brain development
• Understand ways in which the preterm brain can be injured
• Explore ways to decrease prematurity and adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes

Target Audience: Neonatologists, neonatal fellows and Pediatricians, pediatric residents, and advanced practice providers

Moderator: Sunny Juul and Kendell German

9:00 am – Welcome and Introduction

9:05 am – Critical Periods of Brain Development – Joseph Scafidi 

Mechanisms of Preterm Brain injury

9:55 am – Injury, dysmaturation; Where are we at? – Terrie Inder

10:40 am – Does cerebellar injury impact outcomes for preterms – Emily Tam

11:10 am – 11:30 am – Break 

Contributors to brain injury

11:30 am – Neonatal pain and long-term neurodevelopment – Ruth Grunau

12:00 pm – Role of seizures (Dx, Tx, and outcomes) – Adam Numis 

12:30 pm – 1:15 pm –  Lunch break

Importance of nutrition

1:15 pm – Neonatal Anemia and Iron Management in Preterm Infants – Sunny Juul

1:45 pm – Is it possible to decrease premature birth and poor outcomes? Gut microbiota and brain development – G Valentine

Long term outcomes

2:15 pm – Long term physiologic outcomes of prematurity – Tommy Wood   

2:45 pm – Adult outcomes of Prematurity – Saroj Saigal

3:15 pm – Closing and further discussion

Neonatal Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Physiology: Key research gaps and recommendations to inform preterm infant nutritional care

Description: Emphasis on the impact of nutrition in preterm infant health and neurodevelopment has led to greater attention to the subtleties of nutrition delivery.  Clinical approaches such as optimization of macronutrient delivery, prioritization of enteral nutrition, and enhanced growth monitoring have evolved from this research. Yet, dilemmas persist, and new problems have arisen. Necrotizing enterocolitis remains a significant risk, and the potential for enteral nutrition exposures to mitigate or exacerbate this risk remains a critical conundrum. Following previous recognition of the extreme growth faltering of preterm infants, deficits in nutrient delivery have diminished, but a balancing measure, the potential for excessive nutrition, requires attention. Nutritional product options have expanded, but, for many of these, greater research is needed to inform clinical application. Through this postgraduate course, six neonatal researchers will detail the evidence supporting clinical nutritional interventions with a focus on where further research is needed. Evidence-based approaches and the gaps that persist will be detailed for preterm infant growth (Dr. Sarah Taylor), protein intake (Dr. Laura Brown), and fat intake (Dr. Camilia Martin). Current evidence regarding gastrointestinal physiology and how it relates to feeding will be covered by an overview of necrotizing enterocolitis (Dr. Misty Good), feed initiation and advancement (Dr. Brenda Poindexter) and options in enteral nutrient delivery (Dr. Hair). Two-panel sessions will be held. One is an opportunity to ask about academic career advancement with Drs. Brown, Good, and Poindexter. The second will focus on approaches to nutrition research with Drs. Hair, Martin, and Taylor.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the research supporting current recommendations for nutrition delivery to hospitalized preterm infants.
• Identify the research supporting the influence of enteral nutrition on gastrointestinal health.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to identify the research gaps that persist in preterm infant nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology.

Target Audience: Neonatologists interested in neonatal nutrition or GI physiology research and/or clinical care.

Moderator: Sarah N. Taylor

9:00 am – Welcome – Sarah Taylor

9:05am – Preterm infant growth: The more we learn, the more we need to learn: Sarah Taylor

9:35am – Targeting protein delivery in enteral and parenteral nutrition: Laura Brown

10:05am – Incorporating fat in the preterm diet: Evidence-based practices and setting the research

agenda: Cami Martin

10:35am – Q&A talks 1-3 (Amy Hair moderates)

11:05am – Break to grab boxed lunch/bio break

11:20am – 1^st Panel “Everything you want to know about academic neonatology” with Drs. Brenda Poindexter, Misty Good, and Laura Brown

11:50am – 2^nd Panel “Factors to consider when evaluating/conducting nutrition research” with Drs. Cami Martin, Amy Hair, and Sarah Taylor

12:20pm – Bio break

12:30pm – A bench-to-bedside approach to studying gastrointestinal physiology in NEC: Misty Good

1:00pm – Implementation of Standardized Feeding Protocols in the NICU to Reduce NEC and Optimize Outcomes: Brenda Poindexter

1:30pm – Optimization of enteral nutrition to promote growth in preterm infants: Amy Hair

2:00pm – Q&A talks 4-6

2:30pm – Closing

Session 1 (1:00 – 2:00)

Includes 2 interactive SIMULATION scenario sessions (30 minutes each).

Each SIM scenario is case-based and focused on adverse events commonly encountered during procedural sedation.

Session 2 (2:00 – 3:00)

Includes 2 interactive workshops (30 minutes each)

1. Tailoring Sedation – Putting it all together! This session focuses on matching patient needs with procedural needs and deriving an analgesic-sedative regimen.

Airway Workshop – Practice basic and advanced airway skills! Crucial elements of basic and advanced airway support include airway adjuncts, bag, and mask ventilation as well as placement of LMA and ETT.

Session 3 (3:00 – 4:00)

Includes 2 interactive SIMULATION scenario sessions (30 minutes each).

Each SIM scenario is case-based and focused on adverse events commonly encountered during procedural sedation.