The Pediatric Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship Program at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is dedicated to advancing UPMC as the premier educational setting for producing excellence in patient care delivery. We offer an innovative and world-class clinical curriculum specifically tailored to prepare the physician assistant and nurse practitioner to practice in an evolving and increasingly complex health care market.
Our Pediatric APP Fellowship Program cultivates a mastery of pediatric fundamentals including acute care, ambulatory care, procedure performance, and principles of pediatric subspecialty medicine. Pediatric APP Fellows are employed, paid learners with the goal to provide the manual skill, fundamental knowledge, and critical thinking skills needed to make sound clinical judgments on a daily basis. Our Pediatric APP Fellows are trained to provide autonomous comprehensive pediatric care, within the scope of their license and in collaboration with their supervising physician.
Our Pediatric APP Fellowship Program is designed to offer specialty training to individuals who are committed to pediatric specialty medicine with intent to practice at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. We offer rolling enrollment, with fellowship position openings based on full-time availability within a specialty.
UPMC Pediatric Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Program is accredited with distinction as an Advanced Practice Provider Fellowship Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation in Practice Transition Programs.
The current sites included in this accreditation with distinction designation are:
- UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
- Southwest PA Community Practices
The current specialty/service line(s) included in this accreditation with distinction designation are:
- Pediatrics
Mission
The mission of the Pediatric APP Fellowship Program at UPMC Children's is to:
- Cultivate a mastery of pediatric fundamentals including acute care, ambulatory care, procedure performance, and principles of pediatric subspecialty medicine
- Provide the manual skill, fundamental knowledge, and critical thinking skills needed to make sound clinical judgments on a daily basis in pediatrics and pediatric subspecialty medicine
Goals:
The goals of the Pediatric APP Fellowship Program at UPMC Children's are to:
- Expand upon the fundamental pediatric medicine knowledge base acquired in formal education
- Provide the knowledge and manual skill associated with pediatric subspecialty care in a structured environment (Gain knowledge and develop skills associated with pediatric subspecialty care in structured environment)
- Provide an environment that fosters intellectual and professional growth and development through mentorship, individualized goals and objectives and regularly scheduled evaluations
- Develop a solid foundation in pediatric medicine through exposure to common pediatric diagnoses and patient populations
- Provide experience and familiarity with being an integral part of a hospital wide infrastructure, specifically through exposure to lectures on safety reporting, pharmacy and consultant resources
Program Structure and Overview
The Pediatric APP Fellowship at UPMC Children's encompasses a full year and includes didactic curriculum and clinical rotations. Clinical rotations will primarily take place at UPMC Children's main campus in Lawrenceville, Pa., but may require travel to other satellite locations including Children's Community Pediatrics.
Specific clinical rotations are dependent upon which specialty fellowship you are enrolled in and can be found in the specialty specific Pediatric APP Fellowship Syllabus. All Pediatric APP Fellows, regardless of specialty, will attend the 4-week Pediatric APP Fellowship General Pediatrics Boot Camp at the first available time-point after matriculation. This boot camp is offered several times throughout the year.
Pediatric APP Fellowship Subspecialty Tracks available:
- Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine
- Allergy/Immunology
- Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapies
- Cardiology
- Child Development
- Critical Care
- Emergency Medicine
- Endocrinology
- Gastroenterology
- General Academic Pediatrics
- Genetics
- Hematology/Oncology
- Infectious Diseases
- Neonatology*
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Otolaryngology
- Plastic Surgery
- Pulmonology
- Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care
- Rheumatology
How to Apply for the Pediatric APP Fellowship
All Pediatric APP Fellowship positions are posted on the UPMC Careers website. Search for openings by typing “UPMC Pediatric Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship” in the keyword search box.
Please note that "APP Fellowship" will not be included in the position title, but that Pediatric APP Fellowship openings can be identified by the following or similar language in the job description: “The first one year of employment will consist of the UPMC Pediatric [Specialty] APP Fellowship Program. Candidates with greater than or equal to 3 (three) years’ experience within Pediatric [Specialty], will have the option of foregoing the Fellowship Program, but are encouraged to enroll for the most comprehensive onboarding experience possible.
Contact Us About the Pediatric APP Fellowship Program
With questions, email Michael Addis, UPMC HR Talent Acquisition at addism@upmc.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When and how often do you recruit APP Fellows?
A: Our goal is to retain 100% of our APP Fellows within the same subspecialty that we train you in. To make that goal feasible, our program is structured differently that many, as we do not have an annual recruitment period for every specialty. Rather, we open an APP Fellowship position when we have a full-time position available for that fellow to transition into, provided they successfully graduate the program as defined by the UPMC Pediatric APP Fellowship Handbook. It is our goal that the APP Fellow’s division leadership will be able to extend an offer for continued employment for those successfully completing the Pediatric APP Fellowship Program.
Q: Is the Pediatric APP Fellowship Program for new graduates only?
A: No. The Pediatric APP Fellowship Program is offered to all APPs interested in a career in a pediatric subspecialty, as a full-time provider, within a specialty that an APP Fellowship curriculum is offered.
Q: What if I do not have pediatric experience? Will I still be considered?
A: The Pediatric Subspecialty APP Fellowship training is offered to those with and those without prior pediatric clinical practice experience. The program is designed to reinforce and expand upon the general pediatric training received in formal education through the core curriculum that is shared across all specialty programs (roughly 10-15% of the APP Fellowship curriculum) and provided subspecialty didactic and clinical training to promote your ability to practice confidently and provide high quality subspecialty care at your full scope of practice after graduation.
Q: How do I strengthen my application for an APP Fellowship position?
A: The program is designed to offer training in a specific subspecialty. Engaging in activities, conferences, professional organizations, etc., that are related to your subspecialty of interest will help demonstrate your interest and commitment to the field when your application, curriculum vitae, and cover letter are reviewed. It is also important to remember that your life experiences help to define who you are as a provider and a colleague. Sharing what sets your apart, your passion, values, and non-medical/nursing experiences in a cover letter can assist the recruitment team better understand your interest in and commitment to the specialty, the training program, and UPMC Children’s.
Q: I am a new graduate, or soon-to-be graduate. When should I begin to apply for an APP Fellowship position?
A: There is not a “right time” to apply. However, it is important to understand that the closer you are to graduation and certification, the higher the likelihood you will be able to secure a position. APP Fellowship positions are competitive, and the application and interview experience can be helpful for any new graduate. Thus, applying prior to graduation can absolutely serve you well in many ways. Additionally, each position may have varying degrees of flexibility, in terms of start date for the best candidate.
Q: How do pay structure and benefits for APP Fellows differ from full-time staff APPs who are not enrolled in the Fellowship training program?
A: They don’t! While many post-graduate training programs provide a reduced “trainee” salary, you will find comfort in our model that ensures our APP Fellows are paid full staff salary and benefits, commensurate with experience prior to enrollment.
