Program Overview
The Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship at the University of Vermont Medical Center is a close-knit, academically rigorous program which aims to foster the development of excellent academic neonatologists through an emphasis on clinical care of critically ill newborns, research, and teaching.
To meet this aim, we provide a comprehensive three-year curriculum comprised of both didactic and experiential learning. Fellows are expected to think critically and gain expertise in scholarly activity during throughout their training. Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine and Larner College of Medicine faculty work with fellows to establish a Scholarship Oversight Committee and delineate a research plan during the first year of training. Additional faculty from Vermont Oxford Network (VON) and the Cochrane Collaboration provide direct mentoring and teaching. Our fellows participate extensively in their own quality improvement projects, as well as those through the division and VON. Fellows participate in education about evidence-based medicine and become authors on Cochrane Neonatal Reviews. As a small fellowship training program, scholarly activity is individualized to meet each fellow's career and research goals. Fellows in our program are actively engaged in clinical, translational, and global health research in Vermont and throughout the world. Along with the American Board of Pediatrics we support fellow involvement in global health research, and we work in close collaboration with VON and other non-profit organizations directed at improving health for neonates around the world.
Close mentoring with attending physicians allows for an emphasis on high-quality, evidence-based healthcare. Our rural setting allows for unique experiences with neonatal developmental and medical follow-up as well as transport medicine. Our program has the strength of bigger academic centers but the ability to work one-on-one with attendings who are nationally and internationally known. Upon completion of the program, fellows are-prepared for both academic and non-academic careers in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.
A Brief History of Our Program
The NICU at the University of Vermont was established in the early 1960's by Dr. Jerold F. Lucey, one of the fathers of modern Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. The importance of regionalization, particularly in a rural state like Vermont,proved life-saving and visionary. Although a small program, the University Of Vermont Division Of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine has made a large contribution to the field.
As a pioneer in neonatal care, Professor Lucey was known for the seminal work regarding the use of phototherapy to prevent kernicterus in infants with jaundice. Dr. Lucey was responsible for the introduction of transcutaneousoxygen monitoring which was also able to demonstrate the physiologic effects associated with handling of these infants and became one of the seminal articles in understanding developmental care. He also helped organize many of the first clinical trials of surfactant in the prevention and treatment of respiratory distress syndrome. After the early surfactant trials, the University of Vermon twas an original member of the NICHD Neonatal Network and afterwards went on to form the Vermont Oxford Network, a voluntary collaboration of neonatal intensive care units formed to improve the care of newborns worldwide. Currently, with over 1,200 members, faculty member Professor Jeffrey Horbar runs what has become the premier network in quality for newborn care.
Currently at the UVM Medical Center NPM Fellowship