Westchester Medical Center Program

Program Identity & Fit

Westchester Medical Center's pediatrics program is a university-affiliated, tertiary/quaternary referral training center anchored at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, the principal pediatric referral hub for the 150-mile Hudson Valley corridor, with a Level I pediatric trauma center, Level IV 60-bed NICU, and 18-bed medical/surgical PICU. The program balances broad general pediatrics exposure with substantial subspecialty inpatient volume (hematology/oncology and multi-subspecialty "Ladders" service), high resident autonomy in the ED, and a structured scholarly project requirement (research or QI) alongside six in-house ACGME fellowships (heme-onc, pulmonology, GI, hospital medicine, critical care, neonatology) that provide built-in subspecialty mentorship. Distinctive features include named inpatient teams (Rainbows/Ladders/Stars), individualized elective time explicitly geared toward career tracks (private practice, hospitalist "pretending" months, transport, global health), a combined Child Neurology pathway with Boston Children's Hospital, and a strong institutional emphasis on advocacy, DEI programming, and resident wellness/union representation. The program appears to value residents who thrive in a high-acuity, complex-case environment while also engaging in community-facing advocacy and holistic, individualized career planning rather than a narrow academic-research identity.