UCLA COMMUNITY HEALTH AND ADVOCACY
Training Program in Pediatrics

 
What is the Community Health and Advocacy Training (CHAT) Track in Pediatrics at the UCLA Pediatric Residency Training Program?

This is an exciting program at UCLA which trains pediatric residents to be advocates for children in schools and the community.  Pediatricians can be instrumental in efforts to create, organize, and implement changes in communities; and these efforts can substantially improve the health of children. This training program will produce pediatricians with the knowledge and skills to be these change agents.

What are the goals of the Community Health and Advocacy Training Track in Pediatrics?

Our goal is to provide a new model for residency training in pediatrics, focused largely on community settings.  CHAT residents will share the same basic curriculum as the categorical pediatric residents at UCLA. Another or additional emphasis of the overall residency experience will be focused on developing traditionally non-clinical skills, such as child advocacy and health education and promotion. This will foster greater understanding of school-based health, learning and behavior problems, and public health issues. The CHAT residents will also learn basic research skills in community and public health and gain experience in developing and assessing health policies.

Where will the training for the residents of this program take place?

We have a community collaborative in Mar Vista, an underserved neighborhood approximately seven miles from the UCLA Westwood campus.  Major partners in this collaborative are:  Westside Children’s Center (a community-based family resource center), Venice Family Clinic, and the Los Angeles Unified School District (more specifically, Braddock Elementary, Stoner Avenue Elementary, and Marina Middle Schools).  The CHAT faculty is committed to addressing the child health needs of this neighborhood.  In addition to providing pediatric health services to this underserved community, our faculty, residents, and fellows will also be providing resources such as health education, learning and behavior assessments, and service coordination. Residents in the CHAT Track will complete their continuity clinic at a community site such as Mar Vista, Rose, and Simms-Mann clinic in the Venice Family Clinic system, or at Mid-Valley Health Center.

How is this program different from the UCLA categorical program?

Finally, our third-year residents will give a Senior Grand Rounds presentation to their colleagues and the pediatric faculty about their experiences with their community site.  They will also have the opportunity to have an elective in community resource mapping at the end of their third year at the place in which they plan to practice upon graduation.

As noted above, all those interested in completing the comprehensive CHAT track are welcomed to participate (information on how will be provided to matriculating residents). Prospective participants, however, should demonstrate an interest in community-based medicine, such as public health, child advocacy, or school-based health education in their personal statements.  Previous experience in community projects or organizations is beneficial but not required.

 Core Faculty and Contact Information:

Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, MEd, Director
AKuo@mednet.ucla.edu

Wendy Slusser, MD, MPH, Co-Director
WSlusser@mednet.ucla.edu

Martin Anderson, MD, MPH
Virginia Barrow, MD, FAAP
Karen Fond, PNP, MSN
Alma Guerrero, MD
Carlos Lerner, MD, MPhil
Debra Lotstein, MD
Victor Perez, MD, MPH
Rashmi Shetgiri, MD