USC/LAC+USC Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Overview
The USC/LAC+USC Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program has trained over 250 clinical and research fellows in neonatology over the past 30 years. Many of these fellows have advanced to develop neonatal units in the United States or continued to work in academic settings at medical centers throughout the US and abroad.
The USC/LAC+USC Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program had a two-year training requirement until 1990, after which it was extended by the American Board of Pediatrics and the Sub-board of Perinatal-Neonatal Medicine to three years. We expanded to 18 fellows over 3 years in the program since 2014. This expansion was fueled by the presence of the unique and novel training opportunities offered by our established Institute for Maternal and Fetal Health, the Developmental Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research Programs, the Point of Care Echocardiography In the Neonate, the Developmental Translational Epidemiology Program and the expanding Basic Science Research Program. The two major reasons for expansion are the unparalleled depth and breathe of our patient population and the structured and rigorously mentored clinical, translational and basic science research opportunities for the fellows.
In addition, our program offers specialized courses in point of care echocardiography, high-fidelity neonatal simulation, biostatistics, quality improvement, NRP/PALS/S.T.A.B.L.E. and ECMO. As described, the extremely high-risk, complex and high-acuity patients cared for in our NICUs offer a unique opportunity for the fellows to master the clinical skills as well as offer outstanding clinical and basic research opportunities. A large number of our fellows present at the annual American Pediatric Society/Society for Pediatric Research Meeting and the Western Society for Pediatric Research meeting every year.
Dr. Ramanathan, as the Director of the Fellowship Program with the strong support and involvement of the entire faculty, is responsible for program planning for the fellows. Dr. Ramanathan’s special research interests include non-invasive ventilation, and surfactant therapy. Dr. Ramanathan is frequently invited to speak at national and international meetings. He is a recipient of numerous teaching awards from Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology departments. Our objective is to keep the fellowship program individualized to fellow's professional goals.
The USC Divisions of Neonatology and its faculty seek earnestly, as a primary objective of the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program, to provide the environment and guidance for the neonatal fellows to develop into a superbly skilled clinicians. With this earnest effort we also seek to provide a comprehensive and individualized training experience that fosters an interest in research and academia with the aim being the development of a degree of expertise therein. These goals are accomplished by guaranteeing opportunities for growth in clinical decision-making and for leadership development; and by providing instruction on technical and basic research skills through the exposure to superb researchers in the areas of both clinical and bench research.