Why Pediatrics at IU?

Ashley Orr, PGY3 Pediatrics

Growing up in Indiana, my family like many others had a Riley story. What's amazing about all these stories is that while none of these families anticipated being connected to Riley Hospital, the common theme was always compassionate care. Being able to call myself a resident at Riley Hospital is something not taken lightly, the immense sense of responsibility and privilege in my position cannot be overstated. The exceptional training offered with every subspecialty represented, the investment in professional development, and incredible leadership set this program a part. When I look at the residency program I see a diverse group of individuals committed to creating a brighter future for the children of Indiana and beyond.

The residency program champions feedback at all levels. I appreciate the willingness to challenge the status quo and development of new protocols and systems when there are identified areas of improvement. The intentional effort to support wellness and mental health resonated during difficulty rotations. Specifically, during PICU and Heme/Onc there was intentional time set a part to debrief the rotation as a whole or particularly difficult scenarios with additional resources offered outside the group setting. This coupled with opt out counseling showcases the investment in resident well-being.

Indianapolis is a big city with a small-town feel. I love that I am able to live in an affordable home with a backyard for my dog and still be only ten minutes from the hospital. There is no shortage of coffee shops to explore, athletic events, or things to do at any point in the year. My dog loves to explore Broad Ripple and stop in at Three Dog Bakery. Additionally, there are incredible running events around the city including the Mini Marathon in May, various 5ks throughout the year, and a decent number of running clubs. Every year a highlight for my family is going to see Winterlights at Newfields and attending the Yuletide celebration at the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra!

While there are many exceptional pediatric programs throughout the country, you will not find a greater sense of community or more impressive groups of individuals than those who call Riley Hospital and IU School of Medicine home.

Megan Manson, PGY2 Pediatrics

My initial interest in IU began at a virtual open house event prior to the application season. I remember instantly connecting with our program director, Sara Kane, and the way she spoke so passionately about the program and everything it has to offer. I was intrigued by the vast and unique offerings Riley Hospital and IU School of Medicine presented. As a large, academic institution that serves the entire state of Indiana, we see a dramatic breadth of pathology from bread-and-butter pediatrics to the rarest genetic conditions in the country. Our patient population is rich with diversity, as we serve the rural areas of Indiana including large Amish communities, the city of Indianapolis which is home to a vast immigrant population, and everything in between. 

As a couples matching pair, my partner and I were also drawn to the strong multidisciplinary environment at IU. Riley Hospital serves as a rotation site not just for our pediatrics residents, but also our medicine-pediatrics, triple board, neurodevelopmental disabilities, genetics, child neurology, family medicine, psychiatry, emergency medicine and surgical subspecialty residents! I’m pleased to call individuals from each of these programs friends and colleagues, and I’m grateful for the additional perspectives that they provide daily in my medical training. Cohesion between all of our different departments is better, I think, because we all train together at Riley Hospital. My partner and I also were pleased with the enthusiasm at IU School of Medicine to coordinate with us as a pair to ensure we have vacations together and can make it to important life events. Our program is very clear that it values me both in my capacity as a physician at work, but also as a person with other obligations and goals in my personal life. The X/Y/Z schedule in addition to the 7 a.m.-5 p.m. inpatient schedule makes it easy to ensure that I can strike a good balance of medical training and learning with downtime to prevent burnout. 

At IU, I feel supported in all of my passions. While medical education and research have been my interests, one of my favorite things about IU is that the program’s goal is to support each resident’s unique interests and career goals. There are almost endless ways to customize your education between career tracks, scholarly tracks and customizable electives! 

Lastly, my partner and I have found Indianapolis to be the perfect place to lay the groundwork for our future. We were able to buy a house on two PGY-1 salaries — something that wouldn’t be possible in most places in the country. You can often find us and our two dogs in any one of the many well-kept city parks and trail systems around Indianapolis. We’ve still only just begun exploring all the restaurants, bars, breweries, farmers markets and (most importantly) coffee shops Indianapolis has to offer. Overall, IU has been one of the best decisions we could have made, both personally and professionally.

Collin Stark, PGY2 Pediatrics

There are many reasons why I chose to do my pediatrics training at IU, including the high-quality training I knew I would receive, how friendly, truthful and charismatic the residents and staff are, and wanting to invest in where I saw my long-term career. 

When I matched at IU School of Medicine, I was so excited to come back home to Indianapolis. It makes me proud to receive my training at Riley Hospital because I have close relationships with people who have special ties here. What I did not expect when I was looking at residency programs was the vast amount of subspecialty services that have their own primary inpatient services at Riley Hospital, which residents are able to rotate on. Whether it is infectious disease, GI, hospitalist, nephrology, endocrinology, complex care or pulmonology, Riley Hospital has a wide array of opportunities for inpatient experiences, allowing residents to care for and learn from patients. I want to be at Riley Hospital because I feel that creating relationships with patients, their families and staff over the course of an entire career in a city that I call home is such a privilege.

Another reason why I chose pediatrics at IU, and why many others should consider it a top choice, is the staff at all different levels. I could tell how much Dr. Kane, the APDs and the residents loved their jobs from my interview day. I could see we all shared similar goals in the care that we give. There is a compassionate group of faculty at IU School of Medicine, and they do a great job of teaching and setting resident standards and expectations. They listen to residents and make adaptations to better the resident's well-being, while making sure it is not at the expense of training or the patient’s quality of care. That’s why this program still has a mixture of every type of shift you can expect to see when you finish residency, and I love that. Residency is supposed to push you and prepare you for being an attending, while also having many safety nets available for when you need it. That balance is extremely difficult to find, and I think this program does exceptionally well at attaining such a balance. 

I would love to stay in Indianapolis for my entire career, not only because of Riley Hospital, but because the city of Indianapolis has so many great qualities. There are several great areas to explore such as Mass. Ave, the circle, the canal, or Fountain Square. The suburbs are also some of the best in the country for new families and homeowners. The cost of living can’t be beat, especially if living in a city is what interests you. The school systems are also fantastic. My wife and I enjoy watching sports, and there are six college campuses all within an hour of downtown, so there are always games going on. We also have many professional sports teams in Indy, and it is fun to see the city come alive when we host big games or events such as the Final Four or NBA Championships. I chose pediatrics at IU to start my career alongside amazing faculty and friends in a great city.

Sam Shaffer, MD

I initially chose to apply to IU School of Medicine because I knew I would receive excellent training. Riley Hospital for Children has almost every pediatric subspecialty which was perfect for me because I did not know what I wanted to do after residency. Having access to so many areas of pediatrics from primary care to cardiology to neonatal intensive care units proved invaluable. My interview experience propelled IU School of Medicine to the top of my rank list. The faculty were so welcoming and eager to get to know me on a more personal level. During the resident social hour, it was clear how tight-knit the residents were. Even the ones who were at work seemed like they were having fun.

Our program is extremely responsive to resident feedback! As a program, we have gone through numerous changes since I started. We have townhall meetings hosted by our program director where we can share what we think is working well and what needs to be changed. Twenty-eight-hour call shifts were eliminated based on resident feedback. A more robust night-float system was created to replace many 24-hour-shifts with resident input. Residents also played key roles in adjustments to noon conference, jeopardy call system, meal card money distribution, and clinic schedules amongst other things. These are important changes that significantly impact resident well-being.

I live very close to Riley Hospital and walk to work most days. I can also walk to multiple grocery stores and dozens of awesome restaurants. Indianapolis is very easy to get around. Residents live all over the city and can easily commute to work by foot, bike, bus or car. The Indianapolis airport is consistently ranked one of the best airports in the country so traveling is a breeze. I love rock-climbing and Indianapolis has multiple bouldering, top-rope and lead-climbing gyms. There are also numerous state and local parks within an hour of Indy which are great for quick day hikes or even weekend camping trips. The annual Pride parade and festival are both a ton of fun and occur right downtown. Mass Ave is the heart of downtown Indy and has tons of great restaurants and locally owned businesses.

 

Alexandra LaMotta, MD

I chose this residency program because Riley Hospital for Children is second to none in the state of Indiana. I knew that I would be training at a hospital that is truly the focal point of the state. I would get the patient volume and complexity to make the most of my training and become a well-rounded and competent pediatrician.

Our program does an incredible job at listening to and implementing resident feedback. Our program director truly cares about us and has made strides each year to continually better the program. Our program leadership is transparent and works with individual residents to ensure we get the most our of our training to launch us into successful careers.

Indianapolis and the surrounding suburbs offer an affordable cost of living, incredible school/neighborhoods to raise families, and a fantastic location to practice medicine. I enjoy taking my golden retriever for long walks on the Monon! My husband and I have had a blast attending sporting events and concerts at Lucas Oil Stadium and Gainbridge Fieldhouse 

 

Michael Harding, MD

As an alum of IU School of Medicine, I gained an appreciation for the residency program and Riley Hospital during medical school. When interviewing at other residency programs throughout the country, I further realized how many great opportunities are here at IU School of Medicine. There is a wide array of experiences, mentors and clinical expertise that can be found here which was difficult to match. The school gives you an open path to explore all medical subspecialities and mentorship for clinical and non-clinical pathways.

I think the program does an outstanding job of listening and implementing changes brought up by residents. Residents have an active voice that the program cultivates and makes timely adjustments to the program to accommodate the concerns of the resident. The program does a fantastic job of connecting residents with career mentors early in their residency, which is a testament to the broad diversity of medical subspecialities and community partnerships at IU School of Medicine.

Indianapolis is a great city! There are many of the amenities of living in a large city with unique city activities happening weekly, from farmers markets to festivals. My favorite Indianapolis events are the Indy 500 and the Indiana State Fair. These are two paramount events that happen annually in Indianapolis and must-see experiences for everyone who comes through Indiana. Throughout the year, I like to spend time with my co-residents exploring the restaurants of the city. Indianapolis has several sports teams that are a vibrant part of the city culture, and basketball is a part of the identity of Indiana. I attend several Pacers and Fever games throughout the year with my co-residents.

Megan Parod, DO

I chose the IU School of Medicine Pediatric Residency program because I completed a visiting student rotation and was able to see, firsthand, the well-rounded training that residents were receiving. I was looking for a large program that would expose me to a wide variety of patients, subspecialties, and clinical scenarios and found the pediatrics program at IU School of Medicine to include each of those things. Every person that I interacted with as a learner was invested in my success and my experience as a resident has been no different!

Our faculty and fellows are truly invested in our learning and go above and beyond to provide us with learning experiences whenever possible. Our program leadership has also been incredibly receptive to our feedback as residents and are always willing to make changes to improve our experience within the program.

I think the size of Indy is perfect! It's busy enough to host many sporting events, concerts, festivals, etc. while small enough that those events are accessible, affordable, and easy to get to. Indianapolis also has many great suburbs with great restaurants and shopping to explore as well. I love walking/running/biking on the Monon, walking around downtown and the Canal, exploring local restaurants and coffee shops and visiting our outdoor concert venues.