Procedural Training

At Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, procedural training within the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship encompasses hands-on clinical experience, simulation-based learning, ultrasound and echocardiography training, and neonatal palliative care communication.

Training in the Clinical Setting

  • Fellows will have ample opportunity to practice procedures relevant to neonatal care in the clinical setting. At Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center (HPMC), fellows will gain proficiency in neonatal resuscitation according to Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP) guidelines, as well as in common procedures such as intubation, umbilical line placement, lumbar puncture, and chest tube placement.
  • These experiences are complemented at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles by practice of less commonly performed procedures, including exchange transfusion, paracentesis, pericardiocentesis, peripheral arterial lines, as well as training in infant resuscitation according to PALS guidelines.
Three surgeons wearing operating gowns, surgical masks and head coverings interact with an infant medical mannequin in a simulated hospital operating room

Simulation Training

Hospital monitor in the foreground with a toddler mannequin in the background of a hospital operating room setting
  • Fellows will participate in a procedural training boot camp during orientation, held in the Las Madrinas Simulation Center. During boot camp, they will be able to learn and practice essential procedural skills with state-of-the-art simulation equipment in a safe learning environment.
  • In addition, fellows will participate in regular skills refresher sessions, in situ mock codes, and ECMO simulation during the course of their training.
  • Fellows will be required to gain instructor status for NRP by completing appropriate online courses and teaching NRP to residents and other staff members.
  • Fellows will have the opportunity to teach procedural skills to APPs, residents, and other staff members.

Point of Care Ultrasound Training and Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography Training

Female physician instructs a male trainee as he uses a sonogram on a medical mannequin
  • Children’s Hospital Los Angeles has an established Point of Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) and Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TNE) program. The program is directed by world renowned leaders in POCUS and TNE, Shahab Noori, MD, MS CBTI, RDCS, and Jennifer Shepherd, MD.
  • Dr. Noori has been the co-director of the annual USC functional echocardiography course for the past 22 years. He is the book editor of Practical Neonatal Echocardiography and co-inventor of the neonatal echocardiography simulator.
  • Dr. Shepherd has been the co-director of the POCUS workshop at the annual California Association of Neonatologists conference for the past 8 years. She is a member of the National Neonatal POCUS Collaborative and co-chair of the CHNC Neonatal POCUS focus group.
  • The program has dedicated echocardiography and ultrasound machines for TNE and POCUS in the NICU. The fellows have the opportunity to train in echocardiography and various POCUS simulators in addition to real patients.

Communication Skills and Primary Neonatal Palliative Care Training

  • The fellowship offers an opportunity to engage in communication skills training facilitated by faculty with experience and expertise in neonatal primary care.
  • Skills will be taught and practiced in workshops with role play, followed by coached family meetings where fellows will receive feedback and guidance on how to approach difficult conversations with families.
  • Palliative care concepts will be taught during reflective sessions and the core curriculum.