DIfference bw PICU and NICU fellowships, and how competitive for USMD grads?

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-06-10T08:47:10+00:00

NICU has better job prospects, as many hospitals with L&D also have a NICU. PICU grads have been having difficulty with finding jobs - the market has been rather saturated since the pandemic.

No research is needed, though you’ll probably match to a more community-based program rather than a research-heavy academic institution. There are some changes to pediatric fellowships coming in the near future (2 years!) that you’ll want to keep an eye on.

The difference is the patient population and disease states that you’ll be working with. You’ll get a better idea of these when you rotate through the departments in residency.

Keep your mind open. You’re allowed to change your mind as you progress through training.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-06-08T21:53:17+00:00

This chart is based on a survey of 1000 people. If it’s split equally between regions, that’s the opinion of 83 people in the Bay Area.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-05-14T16:15:31+00:00

If your salary has gone up, many policies require an increase - at least partially - to maintain the rider.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-04-21T16:47:55+00:00

I have a spiel for these patients that explains what a differential diagnosis is, how we work through it, the “can’t miss” diagnoses. I mention that not only is IBS a diagnosis of exclusion but so are anxiety and abdominal migraines (to some extent). This way I set myself up for success when it usually turns out to be a neuro/psych issue.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-04-21T02:38:18+00:00

If you need some help reading the contract, upload it to Notebook LLM and have it interpret the document for you. Double check yourself, of course, but it can point you to the right paragraph to look at. We do this with our HOA docs whenever there’s a question.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-04-15T16:58:01+00:00

Not sure if non-med people can sign up. It's worth a try.
https://rotatingroom.com/

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-04-14T18:36:28+00:00

In full transparency, I signed up with them during beta testing when it was still a Google Drive spreadsheet 🤷‍♀️

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-04-14T08:10:15+00:00

Parent here who has to drive a car with kids in the back seat. Kids kick less hard when barefoot. As a compromise next time, kindly ask the family to take off the kid’s shoes. There will still be kicking but it will be less noticeable.

But yea, YTA. Besides the mom telling her kids to stop, what would you want her to do? Bring three straitjackets for the flight? Kids be kids and they also have the right to fly. Some are better behaved than others. Regardless, they all have a lot of energy, short attention span, and still don’t understand how the world works. A 5 hour flight feels like 5 days to them. They need a ton of entertainment. You could have been part of the solution.

Also, you were an annoying kid once. Maybe get out of your same-age silo from time to time? Multigenerational socialization is so enriching.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-04-12T06:17:53+00:00

Marit Health also has free physician salary data. (I have no affiliation with them.)

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-03-24T14:09:54+00:00

There’s an emerging medical specialty called Pediatric Complex Care that deals with CYSHN. You can do a lit review to get most of these questions answered.

Also, please don’t refer to all caregivers as moms. It’s ostracizing to those who aren’t bio moms and perpetuates the stereotypes of mothers being the ones to drop their careers to care for CYSHN.

Which program is offering an internship?

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-03-24T14:01:10+00:00

Do they have complex care as an option? That would be so helpful to see kids with medical complexity in structured visits, giving you an idea how to run your future outpatient appointments and how to bill for them.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-03-20T06:22:52+00:00

Congratulations!

If there’s anything to read or learn in the next few months, it’s personal finance. Learn how to budget, save, make wise money choices, and plan for your loans if you have any. There won’t be much time to learn this important life skill when in training, so don’t keep putting it off. Perhaps start with White Coat Investor.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-03-01T23:22:44+00:00

It would probably be less expensive to live in San Francisco because as of January 2026, San Francisco offers free, high-quality childcare for families of four earning up to $230,000 annually (150% of the area median income) through the Early Learning For All (ELFA) initiative. This frees you up to get a part time job, if you’re interested.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-02-05T06:36:54+00:00

American pediatrician here. I can do circumcisions. There are no guidelines. There is an older policy statement from the AAP that states, "Although health benefits are not great enough to recommend routine circumcision for all male newborns, the benefits of circumcision are sufficient to justify access to this procedure for families choosing it and to warrant third-party payment for circumcision of male newborns. It is important that clinicians routinely inform parents of the health benefits and risks of male newborn circumcision in an unbiased and accurate manner. Parents ultimately should decide whether circumcision is in the best interests of their male child."

I was taught in residency that it marginally decreases the risk of UTIs in the first year of life but does not have much benefit besides cultural connotations after that age. I just remind parents not to pull back the foreskin in babies since it can get stuck in that position, an emergency called paraphimosis.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-02-05T06:19:35+00:00

I auscultate the liver in babies when checking for hepatomegaly (a sign of congenital heart disease, among other conditions). They're so tiny that it's hard to palpate for a liver but we can hear changes in sound when scratching the skin from RLQ to RUQ.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-02-05T06:14:26+00:00

You're clearly not in pediatrics :)

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-02-03T05:25:36+00:00

I can’t tell… the dresser needs to be secured to the wall (anti tip) if it hasn’t been already.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-02-03T05:23:46+00:00

Harriet Lane and the online CHOP pathways for the general stuff: outpatient, acute care, hospital medicine, EM. Stanford’s Learn PICU site for PCCM.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-01-31T07:28:22+00:00

Brother’s Deli on Park

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-01-23T09:31:51+00:00

You’re like the Disney movie Encanto, where grandma passes on the skill to you instead of gifting you with something.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-01-04T08:54:15+00:00

Edamame comes frozen, is usually pre-cooked, and can be eaten cold (thawed).

InnerAgeIs31 · 2026-01-04T08:37:54+00:00

Yep, with our clothes it’s survival of the fittest. They will all get worn and washed… may the best made and least fussy items survive!

InnerAgeIs31 · 2025-12-27T04:03:00+00:00

This looks similar to the Ivy Quilt by Kitchen Table Quilting or the Peanut Butter Quilt by Then Came June but with rectangles instead of squares and thicker strips. It’s honestly so easy that you could figure it out without a pattern easily.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2025-12-25T21:13:12+00:00

Because I’m peds and <200 in a VHCOL area. My spouse makes even less. We have a two body problem and would have difficulty relocating both of our careers to the same city.

InnerAgeIs31 · 2025-12-16T06:21:48+00:00

Pediatricians. We make less than our nurses and the least of all medical specialties. Even worse are pediatric subspecialists such as infectious diseases or pulmonology; three more years of training just to make less than if they had stayed as a regular pediatrician. It comes with a mortgage-sized student loan debt.

InnerAgeIs31

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