Cook County Health’s Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Program is one of the oldest in the country.
Founded in 1968 and accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education in 1984, the program has developed into a three-year program that is designed to prepare fellows for the Neonatal-Perinatal sub-board of the American Board of Pediatrics examination.
The comprehensive curriculum provides the fellows a strong clinical foundation. The fellows participate in a wide variety of clinical, basic science and epidemiology research. The clinical service, including teaching round, neonatal transports and weekly conferences, is joined with weekly multidisciplinary high-risk clinics for a unique opportunity to learn and provide long-term follow up care to the NICU graduates who are at risk for neurodevelopmental disability. The curriculum is designed to ensure protected time for scholarly activities.
The NPM Program equips the fellows with a strong academic and clinical training. Fellows who graduated from the program have successfully found employment working as neonatologists in level 3 NICU hospitals, level 2 hospitals and other academic institutions.
Our comprehensive training program strives:
To ensure an appropriate environment for the well-being and care of the patients
To provide NPM trainees adequate training in the diagnosis, critical analysis of clinical problems, and management of neonates and young infants
To provide NPM trainees with opportunities for progressive acquisition of skills in investigative efforts
To prepare NPM trainees to create and sustain a therapeutic relationship with patients
To be involved as a teacher and supervisor
To be involved with scholarly activities
To develop a commitment to lifelong learning and self-instruction on the part of the NPM trainees
To enable NPM trainees to develop expertise as consultants in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
To provide progressive clinical, technical, and consultative experiences that will enable the NPM trainees to work effectively as members or leaders of patient care teams or other groups in which they participate as researcher, educator, health advocate, or manager.
Applications
The NPM Fellowship Program participates in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP). The program accepts and reviews applications in July and interviews selected applicants from August to November. The NPM Fellowship Program supports H1B and J1 visas.
Prerequisite training/selection criteria:
Satisfactory completion of an ACGME-accredited pediatric residency
Residents from an approved Doctor of Osteopathy Pediatric program (US only)
USMLE/COMLEX transcript of scores
Medical school transcript of grades
At least three letters of recommendations are required
Curriculum vitae
Personal statement
Residents with suitable training from non-US programs may be considered
Rotations
First year fellow: 1 month of clinical orientation, 5 months in direct patient care and supervision of residents and medical students, 5 months in research orientation and 1 month of vacation.
Second year fellow: 4 months of direct patient care and supervision of junior fellows, residents and medical students, 7 months of research and 1 month of vacation.
Third year fellow: 3 months of direct patient care and supervision of fellows and residents, 1 month of cardiac surgery rotation at Advocate Christ Medical Center, 1 month at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago level 4 NICU, 6 months of research and 1 month of vacation.
Each fellow is assigned a half-day outpatient Neonatal High Risk Clinic throughout the fellowship.
We have two maternal-fetal medicine attending specialists in the Department of OB/GYN and fellows are encouraged to do an MFM rotation at any time during their 3 years of fellowship.
Learning Opportunities
Weekly grand rounds on neonatal topics: fellows present at least one GR per year
Physiology lectures: geared for the fellows
Yearly Neonatology Board Reviews
Research conferences
Weekly journal clubs presented by attendings and fellows
Morning reports 3 times per week
Weekly combined (Stroger Hospital/Rush Hospital) Pediatric Grand Rounds
Monthly mortality & morbidity conferences
Monthly simulation sessions for residents
Quality improvement projects
Research Experience
Teaching and research are major focuses throughout the three-year program.
Each fellow must select a choice of research area, either clinical and/or laboratory in nature. Special interests in the Division include epidemiology, perinatal risk factors and neonatal outcomes, clinical profile of necrotizing enterocolitis, patent ducus arteriosus, neonatal infection, calcium phosphate metabolism, vitamin D requirements, cord clamping and clinical surveys. The Scholarship Oversight Committee aids in research design, protocol submission, IRB and data analysis, as well as manuscript submission for publication. Fellows have protected time throughout their fellowship to participate in various research experiences.
Faculty
Attending Neonatologists:
Mopelola Akintorin, MD, System Chair, Pediatrics
Vish Agrawal, MD
Christian Castillo, MD
Rajesh Dudani, MD
Manhal Khilfeh, MD, Chair, Division of Neonatology
Rajeev Kumar, MD
Janardhan Mydam, MD
Vishakha Nanda, MD, Director, NICU
Jacek Ubaka, MD
Shou-Yien Wu, MD, Program Director, NPM Fellowship
Current Fellows:
Nita Shrestha, MD, Third Year Fellow: 2020 to 2023
Aarti Kulkarni, MD, Second Year Fellow: 2021 to 2024
Bilal Manzoor, MD, Second Year Fellow: 2021 to 2024
Amani Qasem, MD, Second Year Fellow: 2021 to 2024
Aashika Janwadkar MD, First Year Fellow: 2022 to 2025
Ugoeze Otome, MD, First Year Fellow: 2022 to 2025
Benefits
4 weeks vacation, 12 sick days, 12 holidays, 7 conference days, 3 bereavement days
Educational allowance
House Staff Association Union
Malpractice, health, disability, dental, vision, life insurance
Maternity/paternity/family medical leave
Meal allowance
Pension plan, flexible spending account
Parking $70 for 4 weeks, 2 lab coats yearly, 2 sets of scrubs yearly
English 
Spanish 
Polish 
Arabic 
Chinese 
