About 350 applicants visit the hospital campus between November and January. These students are hopeful they will be part of the elite group of 43 accepted to this highly competitive program. This year, the Department of Pediatrics had more than 990 residency applicants – the highest number of applicants in the program’s history. It’s about 100 more than last year, and it’s double the number of residents who applied just five years ago.
In July 2015, 43 young doctors will begin their training as residents at Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, where they will spend three to four years learning from experts in pediatrics.
Of the residents selected, 35 will take part in the categorical residency program, a three-year program that prepares residents for board eligibility in pediatrics and for primary care practices or for subspecialty training. Five residents will be accepted into the Global Child Health Residency Program, a one-of-a-kind program nationally which allows residents to spend a year practicing pediatric medicine abroad or with underserved populations domestically. In addition, three new positions have been created this year for a physician-scientist development program. These are reserved for young doctors interested in careers in academic medicine and pediatric research. The program allows them to do research projects while completing their residency.
“Recruiting residents is one of the most important things we do,” said Physician-in-Chief Dr. Mark W. Kline. “We’re ensuring the health of Houston’s children 10, 15, 20 years down the road.”
Like Kline, a former Baylor resident himself, many of these future physicians will continue their careers here at Texas Children’s long after their residency is complete. That makes this early stage of recruitment crucial to the future of the organization. That’s why every day for an hour, Kline’s undivided attention is on the five-to-eight hopeful residents who stop by his office as part of their day-long tour of the organization. He meets with the residents after reviewing their applications, personal letters and doing a little background research on their lives and hobbies. The students also meet with current residents and other faculty in their desired areas of practice after touring the hospital.
“We’re looking for people who are very bright or even brilliant who also happen to be just as nice as can be,” Kline said. “It’s exciting to have so many people recognize this is a great place to train and apply to be a part of it. We’ll have the cream of the crop even more so this year than ever before.”
As the interviews dwindle, Kline and his team will decide who will be offered one of the 43 spots while the residents make their own decisions on where to spend their residency. On Match Day in March, residents are matched to a program based on their preference and the institutions that ranked them for their coveted spots.
“These residents have the choice to go to any of our competitor institutions,” Kline said. “These are bright people and we’re competing for the best and brightest with those other places. I simply think there’s not a better place in the world to be a pediatrician or train in pediatrics than Texas Children’s Hospital.”