Prisma Health-University of South Carolina SOM Columbia Columbia Program

Program Identity & Fit

This is a university-affiliated, fellow-free pediatric residency based at the only freestanding children's hospital in South Carolina's Midlands region, serving as the pediatric academic home for the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. The absence of fellows means residents are first-line for procedures (LPs, intubations), admissions, and triage calls, generating graduated autonomy and hands-on procedural volume uncommon in fellow-staffed academic centers. The program pairs a broad-based general pediatrics curriculum (continuity clinic panels from month one, community advocacy training predating ACGME emphasis, and point-of-care ultrasound instruction) with consistently near-100% ABP board pass rates, and explicitly frames its mission as serving graduates headed either into fellowship or directly into primary-care practice. Longstanding faculty retention (over a third of the department trained here) and an emphasis on mentorship and "family" culture suggest the program values residents who commit deeply to the local training community and want early clinical ownership.