Department of Pediatrics
Professor and Chair
Steven J. Czinn, MD
Our Vision
To assure every child in Maryland the very best medical care available in an environment dedicated to children and their families, with services fully integrated to meet individual needs. As the outstanding regional and community referral resource for the primary, specialty and critical care of infants and children, we commit to provide:
- Inpatient care for our sickest children and support for their families, including complete subspecialty and emergency services;
- Strong community service, emphasizing preventive care, especially among at-risk populations;
- Comprehensive clinical and innovative educational experiences for our students and residents -- many of them Maryland's future pediatricians.
- An emphasis on laboratory and clinical investigations to ensure the leadership role we’ve established in children’s health care research.
We believe that children are our future!
The scope of pediatric practice is represented in our subspecialty divisions and programs as described below:
- The Division of Adolescent Medicine provides clinical care for adolescents from 12 to 21 years of age in a variety of clinical settings. . We are one of a handful of sites in the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV and AIDS research and interventions.
- The Division of Immunology/Rheumatology provides care for a diverse group of patients with special emphasis on immune deficiency diseases. The department is nationally recognized for its HIV evaluation and treatment program.
- Behavioral and Developmental Pediatrics is a division that provides evaluation and treatment services both at the tertiary center and in community sites throughout the state including local schools. Care is provided for children with dysfunctional behavior and developmental problems, disabilities or handicaps.
- The Division of Cardiology provides exercise testing, Holter monitoring, pacemaker implants, and two-dimensional echocardiography color flow. A dedicated pediatric catheterization laboratory is the site for state-of-the-art therapeutic interventions. Comprehensive fetal echocardiographic services make the department a leader in the field. This division works with pediatric cardiothoracic surgery to care for children with congenital and acquired heart disease.
- The Center for Child Protection allows us to combine the expertise of faculty, nursing and social services in advocating for children’s issues in the courts as well as advocating on state and national levels. These experts provide consultation to pediatricians regarding cases of suspected child abuse and neglect.
- A multidisciplinary staff of critical care specialists meets the special medical, emotional and social needs of the sickest children and their families with great compassion and skill. Our Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) provides cutting edge diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for patients, many of whom come to us via our highly respected Maryland Express Care for Kids, the largest nurse-led pediatric critical care transport team in the state.
- Endocrinology is an internationally recognized division for both its research program and clinical endocrine diagnostic unit. The pediatric diabetes program has joined the Joslin Center for Diabetes at the University of Maryland, a world renowned program in diabetes care.
- The Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition is a resource for children with hard-to diagnose gastrointestinal problems. The division partners with the Center for Vaccine Development to do research on infectious diarrhea and vaccine development.
- As an affiliate of a major national cancer network, the Division of Hematology/ Oncology affords patients expert information, hard-to-get experimental drugs, and state-of-the-art test and treatment regimens.
- Through the Division of Human Genetics, genetic, pediatric and obstetric expertise is integrated to provide comprehensive genetic evaluations, genetic testing, and prenatal diagnosis and counseling.
- Unique in the United States is the Division of Infectious Disease and Tropical Pediatrics. The mission of this division includes ongoing consultation with the Agency for International Development, the World Health Organization and the Pan-American Health Organization. Many of the faculty are also members of the School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development.
- The Division of Neonatology provides advanced tertiary care for the smallest and sickest newborns. The state-of-the-art, 40-bed NICU is the largest in the state.
- The Division of Nephrology provides care to children with acute and chronic renal disease, including patients who require dialysis and kidney transplantation.
- Clinical care in the Division of Neurology focuses on developmental disabilities, progressive degenerative disorders and epilepsy. The Pediatric Headache Clinic is one of only a few such clinics in the United States.
- The Division of Pediatric Medicine is comprised of a group of academic generalists committed to primary patient care, education and clinical research. The Community Practice Programprovides clinical continuity experiences in the community for our learners. Included in this division are the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Faculty who provide services for the approximately 18,000 patient visits per year to our Pediatric Emergency Department.
- Clinical care for children with asthma via a Breath Mobile, which provides community access to a health care team through intervention programs in 20 schools, forms the cornerstone of the Division of Pulmonary/Allergy. Other areas of expertise include the care of children with chronic lung disease, food allergy, and latex allergy.
- The PhD faculty within the Division of Pediatric Research have a primary mission to conduct bench research. These scientists collaborate extensively with clinicians. In addition to the work of this division, each of the other specialty divisions does research within its own area of expertise. The department ranks among the top 10 of all public university pediatric departments in federal research grant awards, and the top 20 overall. Grants and contracts total more than $19 million.
In addition, a number of faculty in the department are involved in international health. Students and residents interested in taking advantage of an international experience can learn first-hand the interaction and impact of social, economic, cultural and biological factors on health and disease.
Many of our faculty, residents and students are involved in child advocacy activities including advocating for the children of Maryland at the state legislature, and a number of outreach programs through the Department and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Our Community Partner
Mercy Medical Center provides patient care and educational experiences which complement those activities at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Here students and residents benefit from their interaction with the practicing community pediatricians.
Graduate Education
The Division of Graduate Education coordinates the graduate residency training programs. In a carefully balanced program of primary care, tertiary care and research, residents are prepared for careers in primary care medicine as well as for competitive fellowship positions. In addition to the training program in categorical pediatrics, training programs in Medicine/Pediatrics and Pediatrics/Emergency Medicine are also available.
In addition to the three residency training programs, several fellowships are available. The divisions of Behavior and Development, Critical Care, Gastroenterology, Infectious Diseases and Neonatology offer accredited fellowships that provide graduates the opportunity to become board-certified subspecialists.
Undergraduate Medical Education
First Year
Pediatric faculty participate in the Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM). During this experience, students begin to learn the art of clinical medicine through patient interviews and observation in various clinical sites. Pediatric faculty also participate as facilitators for the problem-based learning curriculum.
Second Year
During ICM students work with pediatricians on campus and in community sites in acquiring the skills necessary to perform a pediatric physical examination. The faculty also contribute to the didactic lecture series that ties basic science to the practice of medicine through clinical correlates.
Third Year
Each student spends a total of six weeks in pediatrics. The goal of this experience is to provide students with an exposure to preventive care through child health supervision as well as an exposure to common problems and illnesses. Students learn to provide developmentally appropriate care for the whole child in the context of the family unit. This is accomplished through clinical experiences in primary care clinics and practices, specialty clinics, the pediatric emergency department, nursery and inpatient unit. A specially designed didactic curriculum and case discussion series, with faculty tutors, enhance and solidify the clinical experience.
Fourth Year
A number of exciting opportunities are available for senior students wishing to get a more in-depth experience in pediatrics. One-month subinternships are available on the pediatric inpatient service (general and subspecialty teams) as well as in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care units. Elective opportunities are also available in each of the subspecialty divisions outlined above. An elective month in a given subspecialty allows the student an in-depth focus on both inpatients and outpatients who are followed by the faculty in that division.
A number of faculty within the department function as clinical advisors for students who wish to pursue residency training and ultimately a career in pediatrics. Many faculty members also serve as mentors to students throughout their four years of medical school.