SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington State University (WSU) and Providence have partnered together to launch Eastern Washington's first pediatric residency program. The announcement came Tuesday morning on WSU's Spokane campus.
Support from community partners including Community Cancer Fund and Premera Blue Cross made the program possible. It's a three-year residency program with 18 spots. Six residents will be admitted into the program each year.
Providence's Dr. Christian Rocholl will lead operations, recruitment and education in the residency program.
"When you have a smaller program in a city where there's a lot of opportunity, there's not that limitation of competing with other learners for experiences and procedures," Rocholl said. "So they will have a lot of hands-on opportunity."
Resident training will take place primarily at Providence Sacred Heart Children's Hospital with several outpatient opportunities at pediatric clinics in the community.
"Anybody who's involved with pediatrics is going to be teaching the residents," Rocholl said. "They will be assigned to what we call a continuity clinic, which are known for their general pediatrics. But as part of training, residents are going to work in an intensive care unit, working in the Natal Intensive Care Unit emergency department, their clinics like the Chas Health Clinic. They're going to be everywhere."
WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine's interim Dean Dr. James Record said this program is what the state's rural and underserved communities need.
"We're in desperate need of students to stay as practicing residents and practicing physicians to ensure that our access and quality of care is the highest it can be for those kids," Record said.
Recruitment for the inaugural class will begin later this year with the first residents expected to start their training in summer 2024.
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